TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Finance Minister Sri Mulyani said that poverty and open unemployment rates have dropped in the past three years. Data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) show that poverty rate stood at 10.12 percent as of September 2017, lower than that of September 2014 at 11.13 percent.
Open unemployment rate also dropped from 5.94 percent in August 2014 to 5.5 percent in August 2017.
According to Sri Mulyani, the national development program rolled out by the government has helped improve prosperity as evidenced by dropping poverty rate.
Eastern Indonesia regions scores the highest poverty rate but Java remains the host of the highest number of poor people.
Sumatra’s poverty rate in September 2017 stood at 10.44 percent and open unemployment rate as of August 2017 was 5.2 percent. In Java, poverty rate was recorded at 9.38 percent in September 2017 and open unemployment rate was at 6 percent as of August 2017.
“Kalimantan’s poverty rate was at 6.18 percent as of September 2017 and open poverty rate stood at 5.0 percent as of August 2017,” she said at the Finance Ministry Building.
As for Sulawesi, poverty rate was at 10.93 percent as of September 2017 and open unemployment rate was at 4.9 percent as of August 2017. In Bali and Nusa Tenggara, poverty rate was recorded at 14.17 percent as of September 2017 and open unemployment rate stood at 2.7 percent as of August 2017.
In Maluku and Papua, poverty rate stood at 21.23 percent as of September 2017 and open unemployment rate was at 5.4 percent percent as of August 2017, Sri Mulyani told a press conference.
ANDITA RAHMA
