Jakarta (Antara Bali) - The government has set itself the target of lowering the country's unemployment rate to 5.5-5.8 percent at the end of this year from the current 5.92 percent, Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar said.
"The government is making constant efforts to create new jobs both in formal and informal sectors. One of the solutions to reduce unemployment rate is launching an unemployment control movement (GPP) across Indonesia," he said in Jakarta on Friday.
With the economic growth forecast of 6.8-7.2 percent for this year, the target of lowering the unemployment rate to 5.5-5.8 percent of 121,2 million labor force is quite realistic, he said.
The minister said every 1 percent growth will create more than 350,000 jobs, The government is prioritizing the creation of jobs in the formal and informal sectors through activities incorporated to people empowerment programs, he said.
The other policy is launching an unemployment control action program across the country to keep down unemployment rate to 5.1 percent in 2014, he said.
"Although the manpower condition is getting better from year to year, intensive efforts to create more jobs to lower unemployment rate will be continued," he said. (*/DWA)
