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Jokowi's achievements need closer scrutiny: Indef

Jakarta Post - October 23, 2016

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Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's two years in office has resulted in some achievements, although some issues in the economic sector remain unaddressed, an expert said on Saturday.

Enny Sri Hartati, the executive director of the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef), said some economic indicators might appear good on the surface but required closer scrutiny.

"The open unemployment rate in Indonesia fell. However, the real income of blue-collar workers declined," she said during a discussion in Jakarta.

She referred to Central Statistics Agency (BPS) data in February, which reveal that the open unemployment rate in Indonesia dropped to 5.5 percent, lower than 5.81 percent posted in the same month last year.

In the two years since Jokowi become President, the real income of agriculture workers declined by 4.35 percent. Similarly, the real income of construction workers also slumped by 2.28 percent, she said.

As the wages of low-income workers decreased, the head of a family faced financial constraints that forced his wife and children to seek employment, oftentimes in the informal sector, she said. "That's one of the reasons the open unemployment rate shrank," she said. (win/evi)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/10/23/jokowis-achievements-need-closer-scrutiny-indef.html.