COVID-19 Is Slowing Down, But Scholars Are Still Having A Hard Time Finding Work: There Are A Million Intellectual Unemployed In Indonesia

Illustration of highly educated unemployed. (UNSPLASH)

JAKARTA - When COVID-19 began to become a pandemic, it was the toughest year for Indonesia. Not only in terms of the economy but also for students who have just received a bachelor's degree. Almost all companies do not open job vacancies, resulting in an increase in the number of unemployed graduates.

Companies that absorb human resources reduce their production processes, which has an impact on the company's financial condition. From stopping hiring to laying off employees is the bad news we hear all the time.

Currently, the COVID-19 pandemic is starting to slow down. The Indonesian economy is starting to recover. The market began to absorb labor.

However, due to the new economic conditions, it affects the wages received by undergraduates. Although unemployment at the undergraduate level decreased, wages received also tended to decline. In contrast, the unemployment rate in the low-education group increased, with wages unchanged from the pre-pandemic period.

The queue of prospective workers at a job fair. (AMONG)

In the second half of 2020, data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) showed the unemployment rate increased by 3.66 percent or 5.74 million people were unemployed.

The highest unemployment rate occurred as of August 2020, which jumped 7.07 percent or an increase of 2.89 million unemployed to 9.77 million people. According to BPS, it was recorded as the highest unemployment rate in the last decade.

Entering February 2020, the share of job seekers among undergraduates or diplomas reached 15.7 percent. Or more than 1 million unemployed graduates, with details of 265.000 diploma graduates and 815 thousand undergraduate graduates. This happened in 2018 during the financial crisis.

Although it had dropped to 13.2 percent in August 2020, it increased to 1.286.464 unemployed. This figure is quite large if you look at the past 5 years.

This percentage increased again in early February 2021, which was 14.5 percent, from undergraduates to 999,534 while for diplomas it became 254.475 people.

In the second quarter of 2021, the Indonesian economy began to grow to 7.07 percent. Industrial sectors began to rise and re-absorb labor. This is triggered by the increasing daily cases of COVID-19 and the increasing number of people being vaccinated.

The percentage of job seekers among undergraduates also fell to 11.8 percent and total unemployment fell to 6.24 percent. Scholars are starting to re-enter the workforce.

Secondary Education Unemployment

The BPS through the National Labor Force Survey Data (Sakernas) last August 2021, noted that the dominance of unemployment for high school graduates was 27.17 percent and Vocational School (SMK) 23.2 percent. But if you combine the total unemployment for Senior High School (SMA) and SMK before the 2019 pandemic, this figure is lower at 52.83 percent.

The pandemic has resulted in the unemployment rate among education below high school increasing. Because many labor-intensive industries have stopped operating. Middle school graduates increased by 500 thousand people, up from 16.01 percent to 17.63 percent. In the group of elementary school graduates, the increase was also greater, namely 536 thousand people from 12.17 percent to 15.31 percent.

Illustration of undergraduate graduation. (AMONG)

Seeing this, the government should pay attention to this group of unemployed. What is needed now is labor-intensive industries, targeting workers with educational background groups below SMA/SMK.

Access to training to improve their competence should also be facilitated, so that they can get decent work.

Wage Amount Down

The BPS also issued a report on Decent Work Indicators in Indonesia for 2021. In 2021 the average wage was IDR 2.74 million per month, slightly down from 2020, which was IDR 2.76 million per month. The average salary for undergraduates is IDR 3.99 million per month when viewed through education level.

From this data, it can be seen that even though the unemployment rate for undergraduates has decreased, the wages received have decreased due to the ongoing pandemic.

It is important for every resident to get paid according to his skills, to ensure their survival. The government's role is needed, not only providing employment but also jobs with decent pay.