According to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), in August 2024, there were 144.64 million Indonesians aged 15 and over who were worked.
Approximately 20.01 million of them, or 13.83%, worked in the manufacturing sector.
Further detailed, the manufacturing sub-sector with the most workers was the food industry, which absorbed 4% of the total national workers.
Next were the ready-made clothing industry, the wood industry, the textile industry, and the leather and footwear industry.
Here is a complete list of the proportion of Indonesian workers in the manufacturing sub-sectors in August 2024, ordered from highest to lowest:
1. Food industry: 4% (of the total population aged 15 and over working in Indonesia)
2. Ready-made clothing industry: 2%
3. Wood, wood and cork products (excluding furniture), and wickerwork of bamboo, rattan, and similar materials: 1.06%
4. Textile industry: 0.75%
5. Leather, leather goods, and footwear industry: 0.66%
6. Non-metallic mineral products industry: 0.64%
7. Furniture industry: 0.61%
8. Tobacco processing industry: 0.45%
9. Metal products, excluding machinery and equipment industry: 0.43%
10. Rubber, rubber goods, and plastic industry: 0.41%
11. Beverage industry: 0.39%
12. Chemical and chemical product industry: 0.27%
13. Printing and reproduction of recording media industry: 0.22%
14. Paper and paper product industry: 0.21%
15. Other transport equipment industry: 0.18%
16. Base metal industry: 0.16%
17. Pharmaceutical, chemical drug products, and traditional medicine industry: 0.15%
18. Repair and installation of machinery and equipment services: 0.15%
19. Electrical equipment industry: 0.12%
20. Machinery and equipment YTDL industry: 0.12%
21. Motor vehicle, trailer, and semi-trailer industry: 0.12%
22. Computer, electronic, and optical product industry: 0.08%
23. Coal products and petroleum refining industry: 0.03%
24. Other processing industry: 0.64%
The Indonesian Ministry of Industry (Kemenperin) is optimistic that the manufacturing sector will be able to grow, despite many layoffs at the beginning of 2025.
"Indonesia's manufacturing sector remains attractive to investors. Planned job absorption in the manufacturing sector is far greater than the number of layoffs," said Kemenperin Spokesperson Febri Hendri Antoni Arief in a press conference on Wednesday, March 26, 2025.
He revealed that between January and February 2025, there was construction of 198 factories in Indonesia, which are predicted to absorb 24,568 workers.
He also mentioned that 21 Indonesian manufacturing sub-sectors were still expanding at the beginning of 2025, while 2 sub-sectors experienced contraction: the furniture industry and the rubber, rubber goods, and plastic industry.