70 Percent of Foreign Workers Are Employed in the Trade and Service Sectors

Of the 74,183 foreign workers (TKA) in Indonesia, approximately 51,695 (70 percent) work in the trade and services sector. 20,584 TKAs (28 percent) work in the industrial sector, and 1,904 TKAs (2.5 percent) work in the agricultural sector.

According to data from the Directorate General of Placement and Development of Manpower (Binapenta), the number of foreign workers from January to November 2016 increased by 7.5 percent compared to the end of 2015, which was 69,025 workers. The number of TKAs working in the trade and services sector increased by 27.67 percent from the end of 2015, which was 40,491 workers. Meanwhile, TKAs working in the industrial sector decreased by 21.78 percent from the end of 2015, totaling 26,317 workers. Similarly, TKAs working in the agricultural sector also decreased by 14.12 percent from December 2015, totaling 2,217 workers.

Reports of tens of millions of foreign workers entering from China are not supported by accurate data. In fact, based on the Foreign Worker Employment Permits (IMTKA) issued by the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration, there are only around 74,000 total foreign workers in Indonesia. Even the number of Chinese workers is only around 21,000.