BPS Records Increase in Employment Absorption from February to May 2026

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesia’s Central Statistics Agency (BPS) recorded an increase in employment absorption between February and May 2026, totalling 522,000 people.

M. Edy Mahmud, Deputy for Statistical Analysis and Balance Sheets at BPS, told a press conference in Jakarta on Wednesday that the rise was in line with the growth of the labour force over the period, which reached 155.41 million people, an increase of 497,000.

“Then, of that labour force, 148.19 million people were working. The number of people in work increased by 522,000 compared to the situation in February 2026,” Edy said.

BPS recorded that as of May 2026 there were 220.23 million people of working age. That figure rose by 689,000 compared with February 2026.

“For part-time workers there were 38.42 million people, an increase of 72,000, whilst the underemployed numbered 10.79 million people, an increase of 59,000,” Edy said.

Furthermore, BPS also recorded that the Labour Force Participation Rate (TPAK) had increased.

“The participation rate in May 2026 stood at 70.57 per cent, an increase compared with February 2026, when it reached 70.56 per cent,” Edy said.

The male participation rate reached 85.14 per cent, up compared with February 2026, whilst the female participation rate was 55.84 per cent, down compared with February 2026.

Meanwhile, BPS recorded that in May 2026 the three sectors absorbing the most labour were agriculture, trade and industry.

“Compared with February 2026, the number of workers in the agricultural sector increased by around 106,000 people. In the trade sector it fell by around 128,000 people, and in the industrial sector it increased by around 9,000 people,” Edy said.