The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) regularly releases national unemployment data encompassing four groups:
1. Unemployed individuals actively seeking work;
2. Individuals who have accepted a job but have not yet started;
3. Individuals preparing to start a business; and
4. Individuals who have given up hope of finding a job.
Based on BPS data analyzed by the Ministry of Manpower, the last group—those who have given up hope—has tended to increase since the Covid-19 pandemic.
This group of unemployed individuals who feel it is impossible to find work is dominated by men.
In August 2020, the number of unemployed women who had given up hope was only 193,000, while the number of men was 408,000—approximately double.
A similar trend was recorded in August 2021, August 2022, and August 2023, where the number of unemployed men who had given up hope always exceeded that of women, as shown in the graph.