BPS: Poor Population In Jakarta Has Decreased By 3,630 People

ILLUSTRATION ANTARA

JAKARTA - The DKI Jakarta Central Statistics Agency (BPS) noted that the number of poor people in Jakarta decreased by 3,630 people to 498.29 thousand as of September 2021, or down 0.05 percent compared to the recording in March 2021 which reached 501.92 thousand.

"After a year of a pandemic that caused the poverty rate to rise, for the first time the poverty rate in Jakarta has fallen," said Head of the Jakarta BPS, Anggoro Dwitjahyono, quoted by Antara, Monday, January 17.

According to Anggoro, the reduction in poverty in Jakarta is inseparable from the government's efforts to maintain price stability and increase people's purchasing power due to the general increase in income.

He explained that price stability was shown by a stable inflation rate in the March-September 2021 period, reaching 0.26 percent, even for several months there was deflation so that the poor were still able to buy goods for basic needs.

Meanwhile, the increase in purchasing power was indicated by the average per capita expenditure of the poor which increased by IDR 11,282 from IDR 684,367 to IDR 695,649.

Meanwhile, improving economic growth has an impact on the growth of the new workforce in the period August 2020 to August 2021, employment in Jakarta reduces 42,000 unemployed.

During that period, employment absorbed 36 thousand new workers, bringing a total of 78 thousand labor absorptions in Jakarta. Of this total, 46 thousand workers are in the formal sector.

The social assistance program by the Central Government and the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government also reduces the risk of becoming poor.

BPS records the poor twice a year, in March and September.

To measure poverty, BPS uses the concept of ability to meet basic needs referring to World Bank standards.

With this concept, poverty is seen as an economic inability to meet basic food and non-food needs as measured from the expenditure side.