Indonesian People Living in Poverty Reach 26.36 Million

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo demanded the 2023 State Budget be focused on job creation and poverty alleviation because the number of poor people in the country remains high.

Statistics Indonesia (BPS) reported that 26.36 million people lived below the poverty line in September 2022, a number which is 9.57 percent higher compared to March 2022. The figure, however, declined when compared to the number recorded in September 2021 which amounted to 26.5 million.

Head of BPS Margo Yunowo said that the poverty rate in September 2022 was influenced by various events such as increasing fuel prices and mass layoffs.

The number of poor people in urban areas increased by 160,000 from 11.82 million people in March 2022 to 11.98 million in September 2022. Meanwhile, the number of poor people in rural areas increased by 40,000, from 14.34 million in March 2022 to 14.38 million people in September 2022.

"In September 2022, the number of poor people is still concentrated on the islands of Java and Sumatra. However, only Sumatra sees a reduction in the poverty rate of 0.02 percentage points. A hike in poverty rate occurs in all islands, mostly in Maluku and Papua," Margo added.

Nevertheless, BPS noted that the national economy in Q3/2022 grew by 5.72 percent (year on year), or higher than Q1/2022 which stood at 5.01 percent.

The open unemployment rate also decrease in August 2022 by 5.86 percent or decreased compared to August 2021 at 6.49 percent. "The full employment trend increased from 64.30 percent in August 2021 to 68.46 percent in August 2022," Margo outlined.

ANDRY TRIYANTO TJITRA | ANTARA

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