Airlangga: 1 Percent Of Economic Growth 2022 Employs 500 Thousand People

DOC VIA ANTARA/Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto

JAKARTA - Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto said every one percent of the 5.5 percent economic growth target in 2022 will be able to employ 500 thousand people.

"Job opportunities will continue to be encouraged so that they can be formed to reduce poverty in 2022," Coordinating Minister Airlangga said in an online press conference on the Financial Memorandum and the 2022 State Budget Bill, quoted by Antara, Monday, August 16.

Therefore, Coordinating Minister Airlangga hopes that the economic growth target in 2022 can be achieved and absorb the entire workforce that enters.

According to him, high economic growth is indeed needed to tackle poverty, which is targeted to decline in the range of 8.5 percent to 9 percent next year.

The poverty rate in September 2020 did rise to 10.19 percent from September 2019 which was at the level of 9.22 percent, but the poverty rate fell again in March 2021 to 10.14 percent.

"This is due to government policies and the number of poor people yesterday rose to 27.55 percent in September 2020, then in March 2021 it fell to 27.54 percent," said Coordinating Minister Airlangga.

Therefore, Airlangga is committed to continuing to push structural reforms to encourage economic growth and overcome unemployment.

In August 2020 the unemployment rate had increased to 9.7 percent due to COVID-19, which then declined in February 2021 to 8.75 percent.

Coordinating Minister Airlangga assessed that this was a reflection of the government's policy being responded well, so that the unemployment rate due to COVID-19, the number of non-labor force, and the number of workers with shorter working hours, will continue to be improved in the future.