Youth Unemployment Rate Continues to Rise, SMK Graduates Most Affected

Indonesia’s open unemployment rate (TPT), the indicator used to measure the workforce not absorbed by the labour market, has declined again according to the latest data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS). However, the TPT for young people has actually increased.

Based on the latest National Labour Force Survey (Sakernas) from BPS for May 2026, the national TPT fell by 0.03% to 4.65% from 4.68% previously. It was even much lower than the November 2025 figure of 4.74%.

“This can be interpreted as meaning there are around five unemployed people for every 100 people in the labour force,” the BPS report stated on Thursday (6/8/2026).

Although the national TPT declined, when broken down by age group, it increased for the young population category, namely those aged 15-24 years.

The TPT for that age group crept up to 17.37%, an increase of 1 percentage point compared with February 2026’s 16.36%. It also continued the upward trend compared with the BPS survey results from November 2025, which stood at 16.26%.

The same condition was also experienced by the 60 years and over age group. Its TPT rose to 2.35% in May 2026, or 0.46 percentage points higher than February 2026’s 1.89% and November 2025’s 1.44%.

Meanwhile, the 25-29 age group consistently fell to 2.56% in May 2026. That TPT figure dropped by around 0.37 percentage points from 2.93% in February 2026 and 2.98% in November 2025.

“The TPT by age group has followed the same pattern since November 2025. Compared with February 2026, only the 25-59 age group experienced a decline in TPT, namely by 0.37 percentage points. Meanwhile, other age groups experienced an increase in TPT,” the BPS report stated.

When viewed by the highest level of education completed, the TPT also showed a nearly identical pattern from November 2025 to May 2026.

In May 2026, the highest TPT was among vocational high school (SMK) graduates at 7.68%, although down from 7.74% previously. This was followed by senior high school (SMA) graduates at 6.17%, down from 6.23%.

Next, the highest TPT was held by graduates of Diploma IV, Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral degrees at 6.09%, although down from 6.13% in February 2026. Diploma I/II/III graduates also fell to 4.75% from 4.8%, junior high school graduates to 4.16% from 4.19%, and primary school graduates and below to just 2.31% from 2.32%.

“In May 2026, the highest TPT was among vocational high school graduates at 7.68%. Meanwhile, the lowest TPT was at the primary school and below education level at 2.31%,” the latest BPS report stated.