Indonesia eyes 6% growth in 2026 despite a jobs ‘time bomb’
Economists have cast doubt on the ‘optimistic’ target as educated youth struggle to find work and manufacturing lay-offs neared 80,000
Now, Jakarta sees 2026 as the right time to pick up speed, setting its sights on an annual economic expansion of no less than 6 per cent.
Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa insists the target is attainable through improved policy coordination and stronger investor sentiment – even as other economists have their doubts.
“Growth should be 6 per cent in 2026. As I said before, it’s not too difficult to achieve,” Purbaya told reporters on December 31.
Indonesia’s economy expanded 5.04 per cent in the third quarter of 2025, a marginal easing from 5.12 per cent in the previous quarter.
Inflation stood at 2.92 per cent last year, within the central bank’s target range and signalling price stability, while the budget deficit of 2.35 per cent in the first 11 months was narrower than the government’s projection and well below the statutory ceiling of 3 per cent of gross domestic product.