Indonesia's Demographic Dividend Might Cause a Time Bomb

Jakarta (Antara) - Indonesia is facing a demographic dividend time bomb as the unemployment rate among youngsters has reached 19.9 percent due to the economic slowdown in 2013. "The increasing unemployment rate among youngsters is a common phenomenon in the Asia-Pacific region, but the most severe impact is visible in Indonesia. This can be a time bomb for Indonesia," stated Economic Research Center of Indonesian Institute of Sciences, LIPI, researcher Latif Adam, here on Monday. Latif noted that the economic sector that traditionally absorbs labor is currently experiencing a decline. It automatically creates a decline in the demand for young age labor. Therefore, it is crucial for the government to devise ways to create jobs, especially for those aged 15-24 years. Otherwise, Indonesia's demographic bonus in 2020-2030 will be of no use. Based on the newly released publications of the International Labor Organization, ILO, the Minimum Unemployment Rate of Young stated that Indonesians in the age group of 15-24 years showed the highest unemployment rate of 19.9 percent. The country with the second highest number of unemployed youngsters is Sri Lanka at 19 percent, followed by the Philippines at 17.9 percent of the total population. Among the developed countries in the Asia-Pacific region, New Zealand has the highest youth unemployment rate at 16.2 percent. Thailand has the least young age unemployment rate at only 2.2 percent, followed by Macau at 6.7 percent, and Singapore at 6.8 percent of the total population. According to information provided by the Indonesian Central Statistics Agency, BPS, the highest unemployment rate is in the Banten province, which is more than 10 percent of the total population, and is followed by Jakarta, Aceh, West Java, and East Kalimantan. (*)