Indonesia Sees Hike in Number of Freelancers, Kominfo: A Growing Trend

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Statistics Indonesia (BPS) recorded that 33.34 million Indonesians are part-time workers or freelancers as of August 2020. The figure was up by 4.32 million people or 26 percent year-to-date (ytd).

“This shows that freelancing is a growing career trend,” said the Deputy Spokesperson of the Communications and Information (Kominfo) Ministry, Dewi Meisari Haryanti, in a written statement in Jakarta, Monday, November 9, 2020.

The freelance workforce, Dewi explained, generally works on a compensation scheme that is based on results, rather than time. According to the BPS, freelancers are those who work less than 35 hours a week but are not willing to accept other jobs.

The number of full-time workers, meanwhile, declined. From the beginning of the year until August 2020, 82.02 million people worked full time, dropping by 9.46 million year-to-date.

Dewi also highlighted that women's participation in the labor force grew by 1.3 percent ytd to 53.13 percent, and the number of workers in the informal sector increased by 4.5 percent ytd to 60.47 percent.

The Kominfo Ministry also noted that the information and communication sector saw a hike of 10.61 percent year-on-year (yoy) in the third quarter of 2020. Throughout 2020, the sector recorded the highest growth at 10.42 percent ytd.

Due to the two facts, Dewi explained that having the agility to adapt is crucial to remain productive in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, the government is determined to continue allocating the state budget for the acceleration of digital transformation in strategic sectors.

Read: Textile Workforce Down 50 Percent as COVID-19 Impacts Industry

FAJAR PEBRIANTO