The number of underemployed workers in Indonesia reached 12.84 million people in August 2026, according to Statistics Indonesia (BPS). That is up 10.69 percent, or 1.24 million people, from August 2025, when the count was lower.
The underemployment rate stood at 8.68 percent, the highest since the Covid-19 pandemic. Underemployed workers are defined as people working fewer than 35 hours a week who are still seeking or willing to accept additional work.
Open unemployment edges lower
Open unemployment fell to 7.38 million people, a decline of 77,000 from a year earlier. The drop in joblessness sits alongside the rise in underemployment, a divergence the figures make plain.
BPS put total employed persons at 147.99 million in August 2026. Of those, 85.73 million were informal workers, a share of 57.93 percent.
Informal sector still dominant
Formal workers numbered 62.25 million, or 42.07 percent of employed persons. The informal share was 57.8 percent a year earlier, and the number of informal workers rose by 1.03 million over the year.
Edy Mahmud, Deputy for Balance and Statistical Analysis at BPS, said the informal share remains larger. He said that points to the need to create more formal jobs. He also pointed to shifting preferences among the population, especially young people, as a factor sustaining the informal sector.
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Source: Statistics Indonesia (BPS)
