The Center of Economic and Law Studies (Celios) believes labour-intensive programmes are capable of driving job creation and economic growth down to village level. Celios's Public Policy Director Media Wahyudi Askar said labour-intensive cash programmes were previously initiated in the 2025 Economic Package, but various such programmes declined significantly last year.
Media emphasised the importance of the government's role in tackling inequality and poverty, particularly at village level. According to his analysis, changes in the decile distribution of social assistance recipients also affect such inequality, with some deciles no longer receiving certain social assistance programmes. Programmes such as the Prosperous Family scheme, Non-Cash Food Assistance, and health insurance have also not experienced significant increases over the past year.
The Central Statistics Agency recorded Indonesia's population expenditure Gini ratio at 0.368 points in March 2026, up 0.005 points compared to September 2025 which stood at 0.363. In urban areas, the Gini ratio was recorded at 0.387, while in rural areas 0.296. Both experienced increases compared to six months earlier.
The national statistics agency reported the number of poor people fell by 430 thousand to 22.93 million people in March 2026, compared to 23.36 million people in September 2025. The national poverty line in March 2026 reached Rp669,235 per capita per month, increasing 4.33 per cent from Rp641,443 per capita per month six months earlier.
