City's unemployment climbs by 21 percent

JAKARTA (JP): The official number of jobless in the city has soared by 21 percent since last month, but the head of the local manpower office concedes the actual number could be much higher.

R.H. Sudhartin said yesterday that unemployment -- officially at 762,648 -- may exceed 800,000 as his office's data was restricted to companies or individuals who officially reported the dismissals.

"The opportunity for the unemployed to get new jobs these days is quite small, especially due to the current economic development growth, which is projected to be minus 6.5 percent."

Job opportunities were further diminished, he said, because many companies had their properties pillaged and destroyed during the orgy of rioting last month.

"Besides, there are hardly vacancies available now. In December alone, we recorded only about 3,700 positions offered by companies in Jakarta."

Sudhartin said at least 18,888 people from 158 firms lost their jobs due to the riots in May.

"I don't know whether these people have been dismissed or just laid off because the offices where they worked were destroyed or burned by the mobs during the riots."

The number of unemployed also included 158,717 people who were officially dismissed before May by companies which were severely affected by the monetary crisis.

He said the other 585,043 were those who had lost their jobs before the crisis, which first hit the country in July last year.

Sudhartin also explained that the city administration was preparing to provide more work opportunities for the unemployed next month.

"The employment opportunities, which are almost similar to the recent labor-intensive program, will likely be held for one year. It's part of the central government's program to help ease the unemployment problem in Jakarta. It'll be financed by the state budget."

About Rp 17 billion would be allocated for the program, he said.

But he added the program was different from the city's earlier labor-intensive program as it would absorb only about 1,300 technically skilled people to be selected by the district administrators.

Under the program, participants would be advised on how to establish several workshops in accordance with their skills.

"There will no longer be hard labor on idle land. The participants will work on their skills."

Sudhartin said a separate training program, also scheduled to start next month, would also be held for unemployed who were high school graduates.

He said each of the participants in the training program would be provided a monthly stipend of about Rp 300,000.

The city administration also plans to continue its labor- intensive program, he said. The program, which costs about Rp 8 billion, was designed to absorb 4,200 people and to begin next month.

Sudhartin said all programs would give priority to unemployed who possessed Jakarta residency cards.

"Hopefully, all the programs can be realized. It will depend heavily on the availability of government funds," he said. (cst)