RI Govt unveils 2025 stimulus package to boost jobs, growth

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian government announced a 2025 economic stimulus package on Tuesday aimed at creating jobs, supporting gig workers and strengthening household purchasing power, as the government targets 5.2 percent growth next year.

The package, known as 8+4+5, consists of eight acceleration programs, four continuation programs and five job absorption initiatives.

Senior expert staff at the Presidential Communication Office, Fithra Faisal, said the measures respond to public concerns about job security and protection for workers without contracts, including online motorcycle taxi drivers.

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said the package includes a 50% discount on social security contributions for drivers, couriers and logistics workers, covering work accident and death insurance.

Fithra said the acceleration program also provides internships for 20,000 university graduates, each receiving a monthly stipend of 3.3 million rupiah ($200), to prevent them from falling into unemployment.

Other job creation efforts include cash-for-work schemes under the transport and public works ministries, along with five flagship programs under President Prabowo Subianto. These include the Merah Putih Village Cooperatives, expected to employ more than one million people, and Merah Putih Fishing Villages, projected to add over 200,000 jobs.

The package also aims to support purchasing power through food assistance, with 18.3 million families receiving 10 kilograms of rice per month for two months. Expanded income tax subsidies for tourism sector workers are also expected to ease household burdens.

Fithra said subsidised social security fees and food aid would reduce expenses and sustain consumption. Cash-for-work programs linked to infrastructure projects would also increase incomes, he added.

The government expects the stimulus measures to help sustain growth momentum after second-quarter GDP expanded 5.12 percent year-on-year. Fithra said he was confident the new incentives would lift disposable income and drive expansion through 2025.