Latest news with #socialmobility
CNA
4 days ago
- Business
- CNA
Commentary: Indonesia's jobs boom is a story of quantity, not quality
YOGYAKARTA: Indonesia is creating jobs at an unprecedented rate. In 2024 alone, the country added 4.8 million new jobs, pushing the unemployment rate below 5 per cent as gross domestic product growth rebounded to 5 per cent. While this appears groundbreaking on paper, national sentiment and statistics tell a different story. Workers are anxious, households feel stuck, and young graduates are scrambling for jobs to match their qualifications. Despite consistent job growth, social mobility remains difficult, with the number of Indonesians in the middle class falling since 2018. The core problem is not employment itself, but the nature of employment. According to Indonesia's National Labour Force Survey, the country created around 18 million jobs between 2018 and 2024. But more than 80 per cent were in household enterprises, while just 2.6 million jobs came from corporations and large factories, with fewer than a million jobs created in government-related roles. Household enterprises like street vendors, home-based workers and family-run shops may offer flexibility, but they are deeply informal and poorly paid. In 2023, nearly 59 per cent of Indonesia's workers were employed informally without insurance and earning below the minimum wage. In most cases, employees in household enterprises face a persistent wage penalty. In their first year, they earn on average 9.6 per cent less than government employees and 57.6 per cent less than corporate employees. With an average starting wage of just 1.6 million rupiah (US$96.50) per month, these jobs fall short of what it takes to join the middle class. UNDEREMPLOYMENT CRISIS This divide is pronounced across sectors. Sectors with the lowest wages and job quality such as agriculture and food services led job creation, with agriculture alone adding over 4.2 million jobs. But sectors that offer stable, better-paying work like finance, health and public administration added far fewer jobs. Most new manufacturing jobs are found in micro-scale, low-tech operations with low product complexity like food and beverage processing. Real wage data also reveals a troubling trend – adjusted for inflation, real wages have not grown since 2018. At the same time, between 2018 and 2024, the average number of hours worked fell across almost every sector, from agriculture to finance. This rise in low-hour employment has driven a surge in underemployment – around 30 per cent of Indonesia's workforce work under 35 hours per week. Although millions of Indonesians are technically employed, they are often stuck in jobs without enough hours or sufficient income to sustain a good life. This quiet epidemic of underutilisation erodes productivity and strains household budgets, pushing many workers into a loop of part-time labour and full-time insecurity. Indonesia's underemployment crisis is even more concerning when considering worker aspirations. In 2024, nearly 16 million Indonesian workers reported wanting to work more hours, an increase of almost 80 per cent from 2018. Over 83 per cent of these underemployed workers were concentrated in household enterprises. The institutions most capable of offering stable, full-time employment are shrinking, while the informal sector balloons with workers who want but cannot find enough hours. POLICIES FOR QUALITY EMPLOYMENT Indonesia must reorient its policy towards quality employment, including by incentivising employers to hire formally and pay fairly. Indonesia can learn from Chile's Subsidio al Empleo Joven (Youth Employment Subsidy), which offers wage subsidies to enterprises hiring vulnerable young workers, while linking social security benefits and access to credit to formal employment status. OECD evaluations show that this program has raised the probability of formal employment by 3 per cent and led to higher earnings for beneficiaries. Adopting similar targeted incentives can encourage more businesses to provide decent and secure employment. Improving job quality is not solely the responsibility of the government. The Central Bank also has a role to play by recognising the economic slack created by underemployment. Indonesia should rely on a comprehensive dashboard of labour market indicators to set monetary policy, rather than a single headline unemployment figure. An economy may boast record-low unemployment and strong job creation, yet persistent underemployment or weak labour force participation signals that substantial slack remains beneath the surface. In these cases, central banks may be wise to hold back from aggressive tightening to avoid stifling a still-fragile economic recovery. By embracing broader labour measures, monetary and fiscal policy can be calibrated more precisely, uncovering hidden slack or overheating pressures that the official employment growth rate alone fails to reveal. Indonesia also needs to strike a bold national conversation on job quality standards, while employers must provide a decent minimum wage, stronger job security, increased social protections and self-development opportunities. Good jobs are not luxuries, but preconditions for a healthy and inclusive economy. Indonesia's economic engine continues to grow. But if the jobs it produces are low-wage, informal and dead-end, the country risks building a future where work does not deliver dignity. Indonesia's economy will not be measured by how fast it grows, but by how many people rise with it.
News.com.au
7 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
NSW Premier Chris Minns says housing ‘standing in the way' of young people's happiness
NSW Premier Chris Minns says young people being locked out of the housing market is 'standing in the way of their happiness', as he cheekily hitout at the WA 'petro-state' in a post-budget address. The Premier told the McKell Institute panel at the NAB headquarters in Sydney's CBD on Wednesday afternoon that young people in NSW were being stopped 'from living a good life' because they could not find a 'decent home'. It comes after the NSW government formally launched its low-rise Housing Pattern Book, a selection of eight architecturally-approved townhouses and terraces, designs for which will be sold for the first six months for $1. The Labor government hopes the project will join other existing initiatives in boosting housing supply, a key issues Mr Minns said was standing in the way of 'fairness' and young NSW residents being able to find a home. 'If you care about fairness, you have to start with the biggest problem of all, and that is housing,' he said. 'A single problem that also undermines social mobility, makes people work longer and harder for less reward, and even in its most acute forms, can threaten faith in democracy and our system of government.' Mr Minns said 'because of our failure on housing policy' NSW residents were being forced to move further away from friends and work. He told the progressive institute Labor differed from the Greens because they 'understand the reality that there is a massive role in for the private industry, supporting government planning decisions, putting their own capital on the line, (and) building homes for the next generation. 'It's where we differ from other political parties in NSW as well, who seem to want to preserve Sydney as if it was a national museum, while also adding another street to the western fringe of Sydney every other week,' he said. 'My ultimate aim is that other political parties join us in a bipartisan change to the planning Act that we can push through the parliament. 'But, if it's only going to be us, that's fine too, because we will take it to the election campaign and earn a mandate for major change in NSW when it comes to planning for the most expensive city on Earth.' Housing has been a key sticking point for the NSW government, with the Premier lamenting the number of young people leaving the state. Despite defending the Commonwealth Government housing targets, which are set to missed by a considerable margin, Mr Minns 'not against picking a fight with Canberra or whoever stands in the way of it (planning reform)'. 'I just think that we had to get our own house in order before we started picking fights or two fights with everybody else about housing,' he said. Reflecting on planning regulation under previous state governments, Mr Minns accused them of having replaced an 'an actual decision … with either blaming the Commonwealth, or immigration, in particular, Sydney's full and other rhetorical devices, or blaming councils and saying, well, not speeding up developments now.' Mr Minns also made a gentle swipe at WA, who Treasurer Daniel Moohkey has also singled out over the GST carve up. Speaking on WA's budget surplus, Mr Minns said the state was 'one of the richest states in the world'. 'Almost like a Petro state in the Middle East, and for largely the same reason,' he said. 'They just dig stuff out of the ground and sell it off to Asia.' States currently receive at least 75c per dollar of GST.
Times
10-07-2025
- Business
- Times
Micro-internships are a ‘gateway to opportunity' for young guns
It's the paradox stopping thousands of young people entering the workforce — you can't get a job without relevant work experience, yet work experience is becoming increasingly hard to secure. Despite more schools reporting that they offer high-quality work experience, a new report from the Institute for Public Policy Research says two in five 18 to 24-year-olds have never completed any. The result? Under half of young adults feel 'work ready' on leaving education. Employment experts point to a combination of factors making it more challenging for young people to secure internships. Increased regulation including mandatory pay, working hours and insurance requirements have stifled opportunities, particularly in smaller firms. Alongside this, the drive for social mobility — although admirable — has blocked pathways for children from independent and grammar schools into many leading law, media, financial and professional services firms. Location is also an issue, with premier schemes heavily concentrated in central London. Finally, traditional internships are simply too expensive for many to undertake. A study from the Association of Accounting Technicians shows 41 per cent of students have less than £8 a day to spend on work experience-related costs such as travel, food and suitable clothing. However, a new raft of programmes known as 'micro-internships' may help young people gain vital experience. Ranging from one-day online 'immersive experiences' and three-day in-house programmes to staggered work over several weeks, micro-internships allows time-pressured students to carry on their studies and paid work, while also bolstering their CV. 'Traditional internships remain out of reach for many young people, so micro-internships can offer a vital route in,' Lizzie Crowley, skills adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, explains. 'Even if it's just for a short time, the quality of the experience is often what matters most to interns.' Crowley believes micro-internships provide the flexibility to explore a sector, build confidence and gain experience that can lead to a longer traditional internship or entry-level role. As the co-founder of a micro-internship matching platform, the UCL student Evelyn Kwan is helping to pioneer the schemes in the UK. She works with more than 80 UK start-ups to connect them with motivated students, who typically work between three and four hours each week over an eight-week period. Kwan said: 'Many students finish university with astonishing grades but never look at internship opportunities, which poses a huge barrier when they begin looking for jobs. Micro-internships allow you to discover what sectors you like and don't like. You'll gain experience, learn from founders and build a network fast.' Chu Yan Hong, a philosophy, politics and economics student, secured a job with a strategy consulting firm after taking a micro-internship with Headstart. He explained: 'Micro-internships work as you can get a foot in the door without needing to have had a large amount of previous experience already.' As chief executive of the 10,000 Interns Foundation, Rebecca Ajulu-Bushell usually asks organisations to make a commitment to a 'meaningful internship' of at least six weeks — but recognises that micro-internships can be a gateway to opportunity. 'A micro-internship is often a candidate's only opportunity for a look-in,' she said. 'Organisations need to be less prescriptive about the way internships are carried out and businesses must recognise the value for employer brand and future talent pipeline by demonstrating small moments of flexibility. After all, businesses are still not able to reach the talent they need. It's beholden on these organisations to be brave and try something new.' Offering micro-internships can have a big impact on early career recruitment. Here are Evelyn Kwan's tips for employers. • Be open-minded to new perspectives: Students have chosen your company because they are interested in your mission. They may well be a potential customer, too, so listen to what they have to say.• Have a clear list of objectives: Students often won't have a clear picture of what you do, so set it out clearly at the start.• Be realistic in your expectations: Micro-internship students are balancing academic study often with paid employment, too. Be flexible to build team spirit and engagement.• Communication is key: Everyone involved in the process is constantly learning, so if you don't like something, give feedback so we can all improve together.• Look for potential: Students choose micro-internships to get experience, so don't expect a CV packed with prior internships. Assess where candidates have made impact in other ways, such as hobbies, volunteering, school and outside experiences.• Look for the opportunity: Employers are reporting record skills shortages, so look at a micro-internship as a chance to address this. Work with your young people to train them in the skills that your sector is short on. Fab Lanza secured a position as an audit trainee at the accountant BDO after undertaking the firm's micro-internship scheme 'Explore BDO'. The three-day insight programme is aimed at students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and is taken during years 12 to 13 of school. Lanza, 21, from Loughborough, Leicestershire, said: 'I don't think students receive enough information about job opportunities when considering their career options in school. From my own experience, I felt pushed towards applying to university, even though it wasn't my first choice. My school didn't offer any assistance with this process, so I heard about BDO from student networks, which shared alternative pathways to uni. 'Explore BDO helped me understand the routes available to becoming a qualified accountant. Having those real-life conversations with BDO employees gave me the confidence to apply for an apprenticeship and know that it was as much of a valid entry point as a university degree.' The number of seasonal summer job postings available is at the lowest level for the past seven years, figures from the hiring platform Indeed show. The only vacancies bucking the trend are educational, with positions for summer associate and activity leader holding steady, while demand for teachers grew slightly. Matt Burney, senior strategic adviser at Indeed, said: 'The patterns in summer jobs reflect broader labour market trends: more competition for fewer roles.' A third of staff are treating themselves to gourmet sandwiches as a trade-off for returning to the office. New research from the product intelligence business Vypr shows just one in ten employees spent between £5 and £10 on lunch last year, but this has doubled to 21 per cent in 2025. Vypr's Ben Davies said: 'Premium lunches and sandwiches are booming. Social media is inspiring people to try new flavours and to size up their lunch, like the Marks & Spencer strawberry and cream sandwich.' A worrying 91 per cent of employees are working outside their contracted hours, the recruiter Hays has found. Six in ten report 'often' exceeding their contracted hours, while 43 per cent of employers believe their staff have become more stressed in the past 12 months due to the continuing economic uncertainty. Hannah Pearsall, head of wellbeing at Hays, said: 'The work-life balance scales are tipping in a concerning direction.' Budding space scientists are being encouraged to join the Race2Space to uncover fresh talent in the growing sector. The educational initiative is supported by the government's UK Space Agency and offers a international propulsion competition alongside mentioning and network building. Alistair John, co-founder of Race2Space, said: 'There's no shortage of talent in Britain, but if the UK wants to lead in the global space race, we need more graduates with real-world, hands-on experience.' Applicants can register at Oxford's Brasenose College is seeking a inspiring and committed principal to succeed John Bowers KC when he steps down in September 2026. Founded in 1509 and situated in the heart of Oxford on Radcliffe Square, Brasenose College is one of Oxford's most successful and welcoming colleges. It combines a friendly, inclusive atmosphere with an unwavering commitment to academic excellence, supported by robust finances including an endowment approaching £200 million. The college welcomes applications from candidates with diverse professional backgrounds who will work collaboratively with the governing body to guide Brasenose's continued success. The principal will serve as an effective chair, promoting consensual decision-making while acting as an active ambassador for the college's values and developing relationships with alumni and donors. This is an exceptional opportunity to lead a thriving institution at the centre of one of the world's great universities, making a lasting impact on students, staff and fellows while maintaining the distinctive character and warm community spirit that makes Brasenose special. Apply by Wednesday, September 17 at
Telegraph
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
I'm the councillor who defected from Labour to Reform. Here's why
Some were surprised by my decision to leave the Labour Party and join Reform UK. But for me, it was the inevitable conclusion of months of reflection – on the state of our country, the failures of the political establishment, and the urgent need for change. I left because Labour no longer speaks for the people it claims to represent and I believe Reform UK does – and, crucially, it fundamentally understands working-class aspiration: the desire to get on, not just get by. I joined the Labour Party because I believed it was the natural home for those who wanted to see social mobility and opportunity for working people. But over time, like many, I grew disillusioned. Too many traditional working-class communities – especially those dismissed as 'non-voter areas' – were ignored, written off instead of being heard. What we should have been asking is: why are so many people disengaged? What can we do to restore aspiration and a sense of belonging? There's a reason so many of these communities voted for Brexit – it was the first time they felt they truly had a voice. Instead of listening, politics became a game: more interested in optics than outcomes, and more focused on slogans than solutions. Over the past year, I've been studying at King's College London, and one of the things that has stood out most to me is this: in politics, delivery is everything. Yet Westminster remains paralysed by bureaucracy, devoid of urgency, and increasingly disconnected from the realities of everyday life. Since coming to power, Labour has quietly created 27 new quangos, all while claiming to want to reduce them. The largest of all, Ed Miliband's £8 billion GB Energy, promised to create 70,000 jobs. Now, however, we're told it might deliver just 1,000 jobs over 20 years. The same inertia is visible in housing. As a young person, I know how difficult it has become to get on the property ladder. Labour's solution? More red tape. A £13.2 billion mandate for solar panels and heat pumps on all new homes will only push up costs and reduce supply. National security is being treated with similar complacency. Starmer pledged to smash the gangs, yet the numbers crossing the channel continue to rise. Only last month, three Iranian nationals who crossed the channel were charged under the National Security Act for espionage. The economic picture is equally bleak. Labour's changes to non-dom status reveal a fundamental misunderstanding of how global wealth operates. An exodus of the wealthy could cost the Exchequer £12.2 billion over this Parliament if just half of non-doms choose to leave Britain. The Government's handling of the Chagos Islands deal stands as one of the worst negotiated agreements in recent history. We are now set to pay up to £30 billion to lease an airbase we already own. At the same time, we are selling out the Chagossian people, who have scarcely been considered throughout this process, despite expressing a clear desire to remain under British sovereignty. Brexit was an opportunity to unleash our potential and revive national confidence. Instead, we're now watching ourselves creep back into the EU through the back door. Our waters have been handed over to the EU for another 13 years, and Spain is now carrying out passport checks on British soil in Gibraltar. This is not what the British people voted for in 2016. Nigel Farage speaks with the conviction and clarity the public deserves. He understands that success should be celebrated, that incentives matter, that hard work and enterprise should be encouraged, not punished. Most of all, he has endured years of vilification and stayed the course. Not for acclaim, but out of love for this country. Britain needs a Reform UK government with Nigel as Prime Minister. People ask me if I have any regrets. I do – not joining Reform UK sooner.
Vogue
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Vogue
SR_A Spring 2026 Menswear Collection
Samuel Ross appears to be experiencing a very English societal transition that is inflecting his work in new ways. Having cashed out of A-Cold-Wall, the brand with which he made his initial mark, he directed some of the fruits of his labor to moving into a big house in the country. The 1837 pile, situated in Northamptonshire, has grounds that run to three acres. On a chat this week Ross said: 'It's the ideal scenario in which to think, and contemplate, and have psychedelic outlashes of thought. And to make art, and to have that atelier component. As you know I've kind of had this vision since 2019 to build a future British Atelier based on modernity and craft, and in this collection it is moving beyond concept and into being.' Where A-C-W grew very much from the crowded horizon and tension of the metropolis, SR_A, after its elevated-nomad intro, seemed suddenly here to have been touched by the stillness and calm of the new surroundings that he and his family are now relishing. Or as he put it: 'it's this idea of dreaming about what social mobility can look like from a craft and from a class and clothing standpoint.' That new field of dreams prompted Ross to recruit a veteran tailor and his assistant to SR_A's Islington-based studio space. The result was some very handsome half silk-lined linen suiting. Outerwear, a Ross forte, was delivered in pre-petrochemical luxury materials: velvets, silks, linens. There was quite a lotus-eatery decadence to velvet trousers and coats edged with ostrich feathers. All of the pieces are made in the UK, following Ross's localist rubric, with the exception of the handmade-in-Morocco loafers. Tote bags were crafted in deer hide, or napa, with sections of cowhide. Said Ross: 'Most of my stories thus far have been about social restraint, dissonance, alienation, and grieving, almost. At this point, that's not where my mind is at. I'm far more interested in illuminating stories that offer social mobility to my generation and to my people. I think that's way more interesting.' This was a fascinating fashion expression of cultured artistic bohemianism made possible by Ross's streetwear-catalyzed, 21st century journey through England's most established cycle of social uplift.
