Economic Growth 'High Flying', Sri Mulyani: Recovery Continues To Strengthen

Illustration (Photo: Doc. Antara)

Minister of Finance (Menkeu) Sri Mulyani welcomed the results of economic growth in the third quarter of 2022 which reached 5.72 percent year on year (yoy).

According to the Minister of Finance, with this growth rate, the national gross domestic product (GDP) level cumulatively until the third quarter of 2022 is at the level of 6.6 percent or higher than the same period last year.

"This achievement reflects the continued strengthening of the national economic recovery amid increasing uncertainty in global economic prospects," he said in a written statement quoted on Thursday, November 10.

The Minister of Finance added, on the expenditure side, the rate of growth in household consumption is still relatively high at 5.4 percent. This is in line with several indicators of public consumption, including the average real sales index which grew 5.5 percent in the third quarter of 2022.

On the other hand, various inflation control measures through the Central Inflation Control Team and the Regional Inflation Control Team, as well as strengthening social protection programs to mitigate the impact of energy price adjustment, are quite effective in maintaining the continuity of people's purchasing power recovery.

This, called the Minister of Finance, is reflected in the relatively controlled and not as high as previously thought.

Meanwhile, on the government consumption side, it still contracted by 2.9 percent, but grew 11.7 percent compared to the second quarter of 2022. Gross domestic capital formation also strengthened from 3.1 percent in the second quarter to 5.0 percent in the third quarter.

Meanwhile, Indonesia's trade balance performance is also still strong. Exports continue to record high growth, as well as imports growing to support domestic production supply needs. In detail, real exports grew 21.6 percent in the third quarter of 2022, while imports grew 23.0 percent.

"In terms of business, economic growth is driven by positive growth in all sectors. This shows that the wheels of the economy are moving almost evenly in all economic sectors," he added.

The Minister of Finance also explained that in the third quarter of the manufacturing sector grew by 4.8 percent, the growth in the downstream sector of natural resources grew strongly with the basic metal industry which was recorded to grow by 20.2 percent, as well as the textile and finished clothing industry and the footwear and leather goods sector grew by 8.1 percent and 13.4 percent, respectively.

"Strong economic performance and in line with the quality of economic recovery continues to be maintained, marked by continued improvements in employment conditions in August 2022," he stressed.

In general, the state treasurer revealed that the unemployment rate consistently decreased when compared to the August 2021 period. Economic growth was able to absorb up to 4.25 million workers in the period August 2021-August 2022.