On Thursday (15/10), Indonesian Chief Economics Minister Darmin Nasution unveiled the fourth economic stimulus package with a main focus on boosting labor and employment in Indonesia. A key policy in the new package is the fixed formula that will be applied by the government to determine increases in labor wages across the 34 provinces of the Archipelago. The government said it will allow a wage increase, every year, based on the provincial inflation rate and economic growth pace.

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Amid slowing economic growth, Indonesia’s unemployment rate increased slightly in August 2014. On Wednesday (05/11), Statistics Indonesia announced that 7.24 million Indonesians, or 5.94 percent of the country’s labour force, were without a job. In the previous unemployment report (covering conditions in the month February 2014), Indonesia’s unemployment rate stood at 5.70 percent of the country’s labour force (about 7.15 million Indonesians). The government agency releases Indonesia’s unemployment data twice per year.

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On Monday (05/05), Statistics Indonesia announced that unemployment in Indonesia declined to 5.70 percent (of the total labor force) in February 2014, equivalent to 7.2 million people in absolute terms. Compared to August 2013 (when Indonesia's unemployment rate was 6.17 percent), this constitutes a marked improvement. However, growth was limited compared to February 2013 (when unemployment was 5.82 percent), Data on Indonesia's (un)employment are released twice per year, covering conditions in the months February and August.

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This column is the third and final column regarding the work permit requirements for foreign workers (expatriates) in Indonesia. In the first column we discussed the requirements set by the Ministry of Manpower, which include (i) Foreign Manpower Utilization Plan (RPTKA), (ii) Approval Recommendation Visa (TA-01), and (iii) Work Permit (IMTA). In our second column we discussed the requirements set by immigration, which include Limited Stay Visa (VITAS) and Limited Stay Permit Card (KITAS). This week we discuss the remaining requirements set by the Police office, the departments of Labor and Demography and Civil Registration.

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In last week’s column we explained which licenses are required by the Ministry of Manpower for expatriates (foreign workers) who wish to obtain a work permit in Indonesia. We explained that the foreign workers (expatriate) who want to work in Indonesia must obtain the following permits which are issued by the Ministry of Manpower: (i) Foreign Manpower Utilization Plan (RPTKA), (ii) Approval Recommendation Visa (TA-01), and (iii) Work Permit (IMTA). Besides these permits, several other permits must be arranged at immigration, which we discuss in this week’s column.

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Early termination of the employment agreement of fixed term employees in Indonesia is separately regulated from termination of permanent employees in the Indonesian Law number 13 of 2003 regarding Manpower (Labor Law). Fixed term employees have an employment agreement which will end at a particular date, or on completion of a specific task or project. In this column we will discuss the reasons of termination of the employment agreement of fixed term employees and its financial impact on the employee or the company.

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On Monday (23/06), the World Bank released its latest analysis regarding the Indonesian economy. In its report, titled ‘Indonesia: Avoiding the Trap’, the World Bank states that Indonesia needs to implement a six reforms in priority areas in order to avoid the so-called middle income trap (referring to the situation where a country gets stuck at a certain income level). Without these critical reforms, the country’s economic growth will slow and may not be able to escape the middle income trap.

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High youth unemployment is one of the threats that is being faced by Indonesia. Indonesia has a young population as roughly half of the total population is below thirty years of age. This means that the country contains a potentially large workforce. But this demographic bonus can turn into a demographic disaster if this workforce cannot be absorbed by employment opportunities. The World Bank recently warned against Indonesia's high youth unemployment and misplaced focus on education spending.

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As rapid economic development has pushed the percentage of people working in most East Asian countries to among the highest in the world, policy makers should enact labor regulations and social protection policies to benefit all workers, including those in the large informal economy, according to a new World Bank report, East Asia Pacific at Work: Employment, Enterprise and Well-Being (released on 8 May 2014). Current regulations, however, favor salaried, prime-age males at the expense of women and youth.

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