TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Head of the National Planning Agency (Bappenas) Suharso Monoarfa acknowledged that high economic growth did not significantly lower the poverty rate. According to him, this was because of disruptions in the economy.

The reduction in the poverty rate, he argued, was not substantial considering job creation was also not linear with economic growth. This occurred due to changes in the distribution of work after the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There are jobs that are missing, there are also new jobs appearing that require a different skill level,” said Suharso on Tuesday, February 7, 2023, as quoted from his official Instagram @suharsomonoarfa.

Previously, Statistics Indonesia (BPS) on Monday, February 6, 2023, announced that the country’s economic growth in 2022 reached 5.31 percent. Head of BPS Margo Yuwono said the growth amid a global economic slowdown was achieved thanks to high economic development in the fourth quarter of 2022 which rose 5.01 percent year on year (yoy).

Meanwhile, regarding the decline in the poverty rate, BPS recorded the poverty rate as of September 2022 at 9.57 percent, an increase of 0.03 percent compared to that in March 2022 and a decrease of 0.14 percent compared to the rate in September 2021.

As of September 2022, the government found 26.36 million people living below the poverty line, an increase of 0.20 million people in March 2022 and a decrease of 0.14 million people in September 2021.

RIRI RAHAYU

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