Pulung Agustanto: Unemployed Youth are Victims of Flawed Policies

Data from the Indonesian Central Statistics Agency (BPS) shows that the open unemployment rate for young people has reached 17.37 per cent, significantly higher than the national average of 4.65 per cent. This figure indicates a serious issue within the Indonesian labour market, where an increasing number of young people are entering the workforce without sufficient opportunities to secure employment.

According to Pulung Agustanto, a member of Commission IX of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI), this condition cannot be viewed solely as a matter of the ability or willingness of young people to work. There are structural issues within labour, education, and industrial development policies that must be evaluated.

“Our labour supply increases every year, but there are no jobs available,” Pulung stated in a written statement on Friday, 4 September 2026.

Ironically, this occurs alongside complaints from several industry players who claim they are struggling to find workers with the skills that match their requirements. For Pulung, this situation demonstrates a paradox in the Indonesian labour market: on one hand, millions of young people are in need of work, while on the other, the business world complains of a shortage of skilled labour.

“This is a serious alarm. We have many young people in need of jobs, while industry says they need skilled labour. This means there is a major problem in aligning education, skills, and industrial needs,” he said.

One of the classic problems that has yet to be resolved is the mismatch between the education system and the needs of the working world. He assessed that education policies and industrial development designs appear to be operating on separate tracks. As a result, graduates of the national education system do not always possess the competencies required when entering the labour market.

“Education policy and industrial policy design are like two separate worlds. Our youth are the victims of unresolved sectoral egos,” he asserted.

Pulung reminded that the issue of youth unemployment should not always be placed on the shoulders of individuals. In many discussions regarding the labour market, young people are often accused of being unable to keep up with the times, lacking skills, or being unwilling to adapt to industrial needs.

“Our young people are educated within a national education system. That system is designed by the government. If they struggle to find work after graduating, do not be too quick to blame them,” he concluded.