Vocational High School Graduates Dominate Open Unemployment Rates in East Java

A report from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) shows that there were 248,050 unemployed people in East Java in August 2021. Vocational High School (SMK) graduates dominated the open unemployment rate (TPT) in the province, reaching 9.54%.

However, this figure shows a downward trend compared to August 2020 and February 2021. The TPT for SMK graduates in those two periods was 11.89% and 10.41%, respectively.

The next highest TPT in East Java was for Senior High School (SMA) graduates, at 8.85%. This figure actually increased compared to February 2021, which was 7.57%.

According to BPS, the high TPT in East Java signals that the meeting point between the supply of SMK/SMA graduates and the demand for labor in the job market remains a problem. As a result, many SMK/SMA graduates are unemployed.

Conversely, the lowest TPT was found in those with primary school education or below. The TPT percentage for this education level reached 3.15% in August 2021.

Furthermore, the TPT for university graduates in August 2021 was 5.17%. This figure shows a downward trend compared to February 2021 and August 2020, which were 5.59% and 6.08%, respectively.