Informal workers in Indonesia hit all-time high

The proportion of Indonesian workers in the informal sector has hit 59.97 percent as of February this year, said University of Indonesia’s Economy and Business Faculty Dean Teguh Dartanto. 

The increase of workers in the informal sector happened as a result of the pandemic as workers who were retrenched took up informal jobs, which does not provide them with sufficient legal protection, said Dartanto. 

In the early days of the pandemic, the percentage of informal workers was 56.64%, but this continued to increase till almost 60% as of February, he said, adding that such a trend poses complications. 

Due to COVID-19, some 5.4 million workers are no longer part of the country’s employees social security system, writes Tempo.

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The government has recently targeted to create 4.4 million jobs in the creative sector. 

“In 2022, our target is to create 1.1 million new jobs, and [we will] continue to encourage it to reach 4.4 million new jobs in 2024 by empowering micro, small, and medium enterprises, said Indonesian Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno, according to Antara News.