Gov't to Prioritize Labor Intensive Projects to Boost Employment Absorption

TheIndonesia.co - The Indonesian government has claimed that labor intensive projects are a priority as it looks to encourage more employment absorption amid the unstable global economy.

Minister of Cooperatives and SMEs Teten Masduki said inviting more investment into the country and kicking off labor intensive projects are among the government’s priorities in an attempt to protect the growth of national economy.

However, he also warned stakeholders and industry players to remain alerted as global situation could take a dramatic turn.

“The persisting uncertainty remains the biggest challenge in development planning, including in the case of our national economy. Hopefully, the condition will improve next year,” Masduki said on Tuesday, August 9, as reported by Antara.

Such projects, he said, will keep national economy stable amid global slowdown and high inflation that hits many countries due to rising food and energy prices.

And the Minister predicted the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine will significantly change world’s leading economy.

“It seems like the war is not [solely] to bring Ukraine down, but there is also fight that will change world economic order,” Masduki warned.

The Central Statistics Agency, or BPS, previously reported that Indonesia’s economy grew by 5.44 percent in the second quarter of 2022, and household consumption made a large contribution to the growth.

To keep the momentum, Masduki encouraged the government to spend more on products from small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

While social aid schemes to support economic recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic has been praised for boosting more consumption, he said the government is now looking into opening more jobs, so the positive trend can last.

“High purchasing power means high household consumption. Therefore, it’s important to create more jobs because previously, public purchasing power was supported by social protection programs. But in the future, it’s important that more Indonesians can find work,” the Minister concluded.