Jakarta (ANTARA Babel) - The International Labor Organization (ILO) has praised Indonesia`s economy which continues to grow amid the economic crisis hitting most countries in the world, especially European countries and the United States.
"While the world economy is still struggling to recover from the crisis, the overall outlook for Indonesia in 2012 was largely positive thanks to the country`s strong focus on the development of economic infrastructure to address constraints to growth as well as robust household consumption and growing investment," Director of ILO in Indonesia Peter van Rooij said here on Thursday.
He delivered the statement on the launching of an ILO report on "Labor and Social trends in Indonesia 2012: Working for a sustainable and equitable economy" at Sari Pan Pacific Hotel, Central Jakarta.
According to the ILO, Indonesia is fast becoming a world leader in the promotion of sustainable development, and the country has committed itself to not only achieving strong economic growth, but has also set targets for the promotion of development that is environmentally sustainable.
"Economic activities provide people with livelihoods and also impact on the environment and climate change, and vice versa. A key point here is ensuring that employment is sustainable in the short, medium, and long term, which is intricately linked to the use of the environment and the decency of work," he said.
Meanwhile, the author of the newest ILO report on "Labor and Social trends in Indonesia 2012", Emma Allen said the overall outlook of economic trend for Indonesia in 2012 was largely positive.
She argued that it is caused by Indonesia`s economy that continued to grow in 2012, with gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 6.23 percent despite a backdrop of global economic uncertainty.
"Indonesian economy continues to grow and is one of the few economies in the world that has managed to maintain growth against the backdrop of global economic uncertainty. Indonesia`s annual GDP growth rates have been higher than the average global GDP estimates, and the growth continues to trend upwards," she pointed out.
She further said, Indonesia`s recent strong economic performance is related to strong domestic consumption, as well as strong investment growth in the non-oil sector.
"It is noteworthy that growth in the non-oil sector has been accelerating to reach 6.8 percent, while the oil sector has been declining to 3.3 percent," she noted.
The economist for the ILO Jakarta Office also said, in facing global volatility, the Indonesian economy continues to be exposed to risks associated with falling demand for its exports and reduced foreign investment.
"But the conditions can still be favorable as long as Indonesia continues to focus on the development of economic infrastructure, linkages with domestic and international markets and macroeconomic stability to provide a supportive environment for economic growth," she said.
Allen further said, Indonesian economy so far has made strong progress towards its development targets. However, according to the economist, there is still a challenge for the Country to ensure the inclusiveness of economic growth and the quality of employment.
"Indonesia`s positive economic growth trends might be uncertain in 2013 as investors wait to see the macroeconomic impact of recent trends in wage growth and deteriorating social dialogue," she stated.
Therefore, Allen suggested the government to pay more attention to the issues of employment and quality of work in Indonesia in order to continue supporting the positive economic growth in Indonesia.(*)
