Indonesia warns unemployment to spike due to pandemic

People are seen wearing protective face masks at a Sudirman train station amid the coronavirus disease outbreak in Jakarta, Indonesia. Indonesia revised down the country's economic growth in the second quarter to minus 3.8 percent due to the pandemic, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has announced. - Reuters

JAKARTA: Indonesia's unemployment rate could hit the highest in more than a decade this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, with Southeast Asia's largest economy set to contract more than previously expected in the second quarter, ministers said.

Planning Minister Suharso Monoarfa told a parliamentary hearing on Monday 4 million to 5.5 million people could lose their jobs this year, pushing the unemployment rate up to 8.1%-9.2%, versus 5.28% in 2019.