Millions Laid Off Due to COVID-19 Pandemic as of June

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian government noted that the number of layoffs caused by the coronavirus disease or COVID-19 pandemic had reached 3,05 million as of June 2, 2020.

The deputy for commerce and industry coordination at the Coordinating Ministry for Economy, Bambang Adi Winarso, opined that during the ongoing pandemic job creation was unavailable, thus resulting in layoffs.

“The Manpower Ministry reports that [the pandemic] affects up to 3,05 million workers (as of June 2, 2020), and [the figure] is predicted to increase to 5.23 million people,” said Bambang in a discussion held on Sunday, June 7.

The National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) previously estimated that this year's unemployment would jump by 4.2 million. The figure could be higher considering the number of job seekers is quite high.

“This is indicated by the pre-employment card program, which has 10.8 million registrants by the end of May 2020,” Bambang added.

He further assessed that poverty and unemployment rates would continue to rise. Even in the worst-case scenario, 4.86 million more people may fall into poverty.

According to Bambang, based on the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) survey, the group hardest-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic was the low-income and workers in the informal sector. As for urban areas, the most affected sector is the trade business.

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