Unemployment rate rises 6% in the city

JAKARTA (JP): A city councilor expressed concern yesterday over the high level of unemployment, which increased from 4 percent last year to 6 percent of the city's nine million residents this year.

"This is really dangerous for the city and its future development," Djafar Badjeber, a member of the United Development Party faction, told The Jakarta Post yesterday.

Based on the faction's observations, Djafar said, there are at least 100 to 500 unemployed people and a further 500 to 1,000 cases of disguised unemployment in each of Jakarta's 265 subdistricts.

"Coupled with homeless people and other social outcasts, the current number of unemployed people in the city is estimated at 500,000."

Djafar said the high rate of unemployment was mainly due to an imbalance between job openings and the number of people who want to work.

"Based on City Social Service Agency data, 90 percent of unemployed people come from other parts of the country and they moved to Jakarta to fulfill their dreams.

"Without adequate skills, however, they end up homeless or, if they are lucky, they find jobs in informal sectors, becoming ojek (motorcycle taxi) drivers and sidewalk vendors. This really burdens the city.

"It is time for the municipality to create more training centers in order to teach more people the necessary skills," he said. "The two training centers currently managed by the municipality are not enough."

Djafar said if the municipality does not do anything to rectify the situation, unemployment problems may lead to social unrest and other potential complications for city security and stability.

"Unemployed people tend to behave badly because they are frustrated and do not have anything to do. This situation can lead to riots if there are sensitive issues, such as the gap between rich and poor."

Djafar also urged contractors and private companies not to act flippantly and dismiss their employees in response to the current monetary crisis.

"Reportedly, there are already 40,000 workers in the property sector who have been fired because there are no jobs left for them," he said.

In a related development, Emon Sumantri, the head of the city's social service agency, said yesterday that Jakarta had been flooded by vagrants and beggars over the past four months.

About 1,000 new beggars and vagrants reportedly enter the city every month because development projects in their hometown have been delayed as a result of the monetary crisis, Emon said.

The city is placed in an difficult position because every time the city runs an operation to send vagrants and beggars back home, new faces appear.

"This problems really burdens the city," he said. "But because of the economic crisis there isn't much we can do right now." (07)