TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Chief statistician of Statistics Indonesia (BPS), Margo Yuwono, in a press conference on Thursday said the Indonesian population living in poverty as of March 2021 reached 27.54 million people, which is an increase of 1.12 million people if compared to previous period.

However, compared to September last year, the number of impoverished people slightly reduced by 0.01 million people. Based on the percentage, people living under poverty in March of 2021 was 10.14 percent, or a 0.05 percent drop compared to September 2020 that logged 10.19 percent.

Yuwono said the reduction of people living below the poverty line in March this year coincides with the improving domestic economy which can be seen in the reduction of economic contraction during this year’s first quarter or -0.74 percent.

The employment level in August 2020 of 7.07 percent became 6.26 percent in February of 2021. The number of working people had also increased during this period due to improving public mobility despite 15.72 percent of workers having received a reduction of work days.

Moreover, the chief statistician explained that urban people living below the poverty line in March 2021 increased by 0.01 percent while a drop was recorded in rural village areas by 0.10 percent.

Read: Indonesia Poverty Level Below World Bank Prediction, Says Sri Mulyani

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