Rising temporary jobs, jobless youth strain Indonesia’s job market

JAKARTA, Indonesia (MNTV) – Indonesia’s job market showed renewed strain in August, with unemployment ticking higher as tens of thousands lost their jobs and young workers once again bore the brunt of the slowdown, reports The Star. 

While the share of formal employment improved, analysts warned that many of these positions were short-term or contractual, offering little job security and potentially dampening worker morale and productivity.

Statistics Indonesia (BPS) revealed in its biannual employment survey that the national unemployment rate inched up to 4.85 percent  in August 2025, from 4.76pc recorded six months earlier.

BPS official Edy Mahmud said that the country had “nominally” reduced unemployment by 4,000 people compared with the same month last year. However, August’s 7.46 million jobless remains higher than February’s 7.28 million

Edy explained that BPS classifies the unemployed into six categories, including fresh graduates and individuals who have secured a job but had not yet started working at the time of the survey.

The largest group of unemployed, nearly one in three jobless Indonesians, were categorized as long-term unemployed, referring to those who have been seeking work for more than a year, Edy said.

Close behind were those with previous work experience who are currently unemployed, accounting for 30.53pc.

The manufacturing industry was responsible for 22,800 layoffs, or almost 40pc of the total, while the trade and mining sectors, the second- and third-largest contributors, accounted for just over 17,000 job losses combined. 

Despite the layoffs, the manufacturing sector recorded a strong net gain of about 700,000 new hires between February and August, while the trade and agriculture sectors together shed nearly one million workers during the same period.