{
    "success": true,
    "data": {
        "id": 1711971,
        "msgid": "educated-workers-after-getting-a-job-still-searching-for-work-1777600344",
        "date": "2026-05-01 08:05:54",
        "title": "Educated Workers: After Getting a Job, Still Searching for Work",
        "author": "Sandro Gatra",
        "source": "KOMPAS",
        "tags": "",
        "topic": "Economy",
        "summary": "The article explores how education, once seen as a reliable path out of poverty in Indonesia, is increasingly failing to provide financial security, leading educated workers to seek side jobs despite employment. Drawing on data from Katadata Insight Center, it reveals that 46.3% of middle-class respondents have side gigs to supplement insufficient incomes, while vulnerable poverty groups have swelled to 67.69 million over five years. This systemic issue, rooted in economic theories like Gary Becker's human capital model, underscores a structural decline rather than individual failings, challenging the promise of upward mobility.",
        "content": "<p>IN THE PAST, education was the primary route out of poverty. Parents\nwould sell gold, borrow from neighbours, and work overtime for years\u2014not\nbecause there were no other options, but because they believed there was\none thing that could break the cycle of poverty. They believed a diploma\ncould be a ticket out of all worldly hardships. Their aspiration was for\ntheir children not to have to do manual labour like they did. So that\nthere would be a ladder to climb. And for several decades, that promise\nstill seemed reasonable. Until now, one must ask: does education still\nhave the leverage to escape fears of the future and poverty? Nowadays,\nmany of those who have gone to university are working. Even though they\nhave jobs, they are still applying for other jobs. Yes, side jobs. Not\nbecause of laziness, not because of choosing the wrong major, not\nbecause of lack of effort\u2014but because one job alone turns out not to be\nenough for a decent living. The Katadata Insight Center (KIC) in its\nKatadata Indonesia Middle Class Insight (KIMCI) report for Q4 2025 to Q1\n2026 notes that out of 1,000 middle-class respondents in Indonesia,\n46.3% have side jobs outside their main employment. Nearly half of them.\nActually, this is not a symptom of ambition or a psychological issue\nwhere someone cannot tolerate working under pressure. Clearly, this is a\nnecessary defence mechanism for workers to patch financial gaps.\nDominant survival, not moving forward. If wages or salaries are\ninsufficient, it is very human to want to seek additional income. The\nvulnerable poor group has actually swelled from 54.97 million to 67.69\nmillion people in the same period. This is not a trend that can be read\nas growth that is \u201cin process.\u201d This is a structural movement that has\nbeen ongoing for five consecutive years, and its direction is\nconsistently downward. What makes this phenomenon difficult to discuss\nis that it is easy to appear as if one is blaming someone. We focus on\nthe weak generation. Their wrong choices. However, the data we see now\ndoes not speak about individuals. The data speaks about patterns. And\nthis pattern is too massive to be read as personal failure. To\nunderstand why this is happening systematically, we need to look at how\nthe theory behind \u201ceducation as a ladder\u201d actually works\u2014and where it\nstarts to crack. Economist Gary Becker (1964) formulated that investment\nin education can indeed increase individual productivity, and the market\nwill reward that productivity with higher wages.<\/p>",
        "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/educated-workers-after-getting-a-job-still-searching-for-work-1777600344",
        "image": ""
    },
    "sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
    "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}