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COPYRIGHT 2004 FDCH e-media
Original Source: Emerging Markets Datafile
URL: http://www.thejakartapost.com/
Indonesia is facing several serious labor issues viewed both in the short and long-term. While some of these interrelated problems can be partially settled, they will need comprehensive solutions that should not be limited to the labor market.
Total as well as well as what is called "open" unemployment has increased. Since the economic crisis in mid-1997, the amount of jobless has risen significantly -- in terms of both the old way to calculate unemployment and the expanded benchmark.
In 1997, the rate of unemployment using the old definition only reached 3 percent, while based on the new definition it rose more substantially from 5.4 percent in 1997 to 9.5 percent last year. Quarterly data indicated stabilizing and marginally decreasing unemployment.
The rate is higher if the definition is expanded to include "disguised" unemployment -- people who are technically unemployed but survive on odd jobs done for family members, friends and associates. The 1997 total, including disguised unemployment, involved 15.5 million people or 17.4 percent, but this rate soared to the economic crisis-level of 20.5 million people (21.3 percent) in 1999.
Total unemployment declined in 2000, but it went up again in 2002 and last year. Analysts say the unemployment rate has begun to stabilize and with the accelerating economic growth from this year, the level of unemployment as a whole is expected to decrease.
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