The Urgency of Improving Young Workers’ Competitiveness during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning
Policy Research

The COVID-19 pandemic worsens the Indonesian unemployment rate. This is a challenge not only for the national workeforce in general, but also for the young workers. Using the descriptive statistical method, this infographic presents data on the employment situation of the young workers, which is analyzed from the 2020 National Labor Force Survey (Sakernas) data. The analysis results indicate that the unemployment rate of Indonesia's young workers is relatively higher than the national unemployment rate. It is even higher than the average global unemployment rate of young workers. Also, the COVID-19 pandemic has further worsened the employment situation of Indonesia's young workers in that it has triggered an increase in layoffs, reduction in working hours, and companies' actions to temporarily dismiss workers. In addition to the high rate of youth unemployment, the young workers’ potential has not been maximized as can be seen from the high proportion of the youth who are not in employment, education, and training (NEET). However, the youth’s high adaptability to and mastery of technology are a distinct advantage to compete in the job market. Therefore, the skills of the young workers need to be continuously sharpened to improve their competitiveness.

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Author 
Muhammad Adi Rahman
Akhmad Ramadhan Fatah
Author(s)
Muhammad Adi Rahman
Akhmad Ramadhan Fatah
Editor(s) 
Research Area 
National
Keywords 
labor
young workers
unemployment rate
youth unemployment
Publication Type 
Infographic, Poster, and Fact Sheet
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