Central Java Residents Urged Not to Seek Jobs Outside the Province After Eid al-Fitr

The Head of the Manpower and Transmigration Office of Central Java Province (Jateng), Ahmad Aziz, has urged Central Java residents not to flock to seek job opportunities outside Jateng after Eid al-Fitr. This comes amid frequent waves of urbanisation following the Eid homecoming season.

“The Governor has a strong commitment to opening up employment opportunities in Central Java,” said Aziz when asked about the potential urbanisation of Central Java residents after Eid, on Sunday (29/3/2026).

He explained that the commitment to creating jobs is being realised by the Central Java Governor through efforts to offer and attract investment to the Jateng region, particularly in labour-intensive industries.

“Labour-intensive industries require a lot of manpower. Therefore, the Governor hopes that the companies that have opened job opportunities in Central Java will be filled by Central Java residents,” Aziz stated.

Nevertheless, Aziz noted that the availability of jobs must be balanced with the competencies required by the relevant industries. “The Governor always emphasises that vocational schools, including universities, and also the BLKs, serve as places to provide training provisions, both related to skills and soft skills, to enter the industrial world, especially in Central Java,” he said.

“However, the Governor does not prohibit Central Java residents from working outside Central Java, or even abroad as PMI or TKI. Working is a choice; the government or state provides protection and facilities,” Aziz added.

According to Aziz, the current open unemployment rate (TPT) in Jateng is around four percent, equivalent to 1,040,000 people. Earlier this year, the Head of the Investment and One-Stop Integrated Services Office (DPMPTSP) of Central Java Province, Sakina Rosellasari, stated that capital-intensive industries are starting to stir in Jateng. However, she said that Jateng still needs investment in labour-intensive industries to cut the unemployment rate.

Sakina explained that the Central Java Provincial Government does want investment in capital-intensive industries. “This means Central Java is not only focusing on labour-intensive, but we also want capital-intensive, and that aligns with several industrial estates that are already being eyed by capital-intensive sectors,” she said during an interview in Semarang City on 22 January 2026.

She cited investments in the Batang Integrated Industrial Estate (KITB) and the Kendal Special Economic Zone (KEK). “So KITB, then KEK Kendal, are indeed starting to shift to capital-intensive,” said Sakina, while mentioning the presence of battery and solar panel industries in both industrial estates.

Sakina added that in KEK Kendal, for example, there is Indonesia BTR New Energy Material, a company in the battery industry. Its investment value in the fourth quarter of 2025 reached Rp1.5 trillion.

“Capital-intensive is already showing investment realisation,” she said.

Nevertheless, Sakina stated that Jateng still needs investment in labour-intensive fields. For example, the footwear industry, whose ecosystem has already been established in Jateng.

“Central Java still needs labour-intensive sectors. Because with labour-intensive, it will definitely open up employment opportunities, employ a lot of manpower, reduce unemployment rates, and certainly have a spread effect or multiplier effect on the surrounding economy,” said Sakina.