Indonesia's Unemployment Dominated by High School Graduates, Yet Proportion of Degree Holders Rises

The number of unemployed people in Indonesia has decreased according to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS). However, the composition of the unemployed is increasingly made up of degree holders, even though the majority still come from high school and vocational school graduates.

Based on the National Labour Force Survey (Sakernas) from BPS for May 2026, the national unemployment figure fell to just 7.22 million, a decrease of 24,000 people compared to February 2026, which recorded 7.24 million. This figure is also lower than the November 2025 data, which showed 7.35 million unemployed.

‘Unemployed refers to residents aged 15 years and over who, in the last week, did not work but were looking for work; preparing a new business; had been accepted for a job or were ready to start a business but had not yet begun working; or felt it was impossible to get a job (discouraged),’ as quoted from the BPS report.

Although the overall number of unemployed shows a downward trend, the proportion of university graduates holding a Diploma IV, Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Doctoral degree among the unemployed has continued to creep upwards. The proportion rose from 12.37% in November 2025, to 14.27% in February 2026, and edged up again to 14.31% in May 2026.

Converted into absolute numbers, this proportion equates to approximately 1.03 million unemployed Diploma IV, Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral degree holders in both the February and May 2026 periods. This means that while the percentage share increased, the absolute number remained relatively stagnant because the total number of unemployed also slightly decreased.

The distribution of unemployment by education level in February and May 2026 was recorded as follows: Senior High School (SMA) at 28.00%, unchanged from the previous period; Vocational High School (SMK) at 22.39%, up from 22.35%; Elementary School and below at 17.18%, down from 17.20%; Junior High School (SMP) at 15.65%, down from 15.71%; Diploma IV/Bachelor’s/Master’s/Doctoral degrees at 14.31%, up from 14.27%; and Diploma I/II/III at 2.48%, unchanged from the previous data.

Despite the rising proportion of degree holders in the unemployment structure, it is important to note that this phenomenon does not necessarily mean the number of unemployed graduates has surged dramatically in a short time. The increase in proportion from February to May 2026 was marginal, only 0.04 percentage points, and the absolute number remained relatively stable at around 1.03 million people. A more striking change is observed when comparing data from November 2025, where the proportion of Diploma IV/Bachelor’s/Master’s/Doctoral graduates in the unemployment structure rose quite significantly, from 12.37% to above 14.31%.