Duh! Youth Unemployment Rate is Highest

The National Labor Force Survey (Sakernas) recorded an Open Unemployment Rate (OUR) of 18.03% for young people in February 2021. This figure increased by 1.72% compared to February 2020 but decreased by 2.43% compared to August 2020.

"Young people" refers to the workforce aged 15-24 years. The OUR indicates that out of every 100 young people in the workforce, 18 are unemployed. Sakernas data shows a total workforce of 21.20 million in the 15-24 age group. This means 3.82 million people in this age range were unemployed.

This number is almost half of the total national OUR, which reached 8.75 million or 6.26% in February 2021. In percentage terms, the youth OUR accounts for 43.7% of the total national OUR.

By gender, the OUR for young men in February 2021 was 19.31%, higher than the OUR for young women at 16.25%. This pattern was also observed in February 2020 and August 2020. The OUR for young men and women in February 2021 showed improvement compared to August 2020.

(Read More: BPS: Almost 1 Million Unemployed Graduates in February 2021)

Meanwhile, based on place of residence, the OUR for young people in urban areas was higher than in rural areas. In February 2021, the youth OUR in urban areas reached 20.66%, while in rural areas it was 14.47%.

For information, the Center of Reform on Economics (CORE) Indonesia stated that Indonesia's youth OUR in 2020 was the highest in ASEAN, reaching 20%. Other ASEAN countries such as the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, and Malaysia remained below 15%.