Jakarta. As of November 2024, 272,164 Indonesian migrant workers have been deployed abroad, nearly matching the 274,000 recorded in 2023, according to the Indonesian Migrant Workers Protection Agency (BP2MI) report.

The majority of migrant workers are employed in the informal sector, with 145,962 workers compared to 126,202 in the formal sector. Women make up the bulk of the workforce, accounting for 187,127 workers, while men total 85,037. Most workers have completed high school, followed by junior high school graduates, and only a small percentage hold university degrees.

Domestic workers (housemaids) are the largest group, with 93,116 workers, followed by caregivers (48,553) and plantation workers (15,053).

In November 2024, worker placements saw a slight increase of 8.3 percent, rising to 21,306 from 19,673 in November 2023. The informal sector accounted for 53.23 percent of placements, while the formal sector made up the rest. The largest concentrations of placements were in five countries: Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, South Korea, and Japan, which together accounted for 85.19 percent of total placements.

The report also shows a decline in female worker placements by 14.14 percent, while male placements increased by 8.8 percent. In November, formal sector placements rose by 6.11 percent, while informal sector placements dropped significantly by 65.93 percent.

BP2MI also recorded a decrease in complaints related to migrant workers. In November 2024, 96 complaints were filed, a 25.58 percent decrease from 129 complaints in November 2023. The highest number of complaints came from Taiwan, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and the UAE, which together accounted for 58.35 percent of all complaints.

BP2MI Jakarta has issued a public warning about the rise of fraudulent overseas job offers. "We urge the public to stay vigilant against human trafficking and deceptive recruitment schemes," said Duhri Akbar Nur, Head of BP2MI Jakarta recently.

He explained that the rise of digital technology has made it easier for criminals to target job seekers online, leading to an increase in scams. BP2MI plans to launch awareness campaigns to combat human trafficking and prevent the spread of hoaxes on social media.

East Java was the leading province for migrant worker placements, with 5,386 placements, although this was a 16.11 percent decrease from the previous month. The province with the most complaints was West Java, with 24 complaints, primarily related to the repatriation of workers.

Due to a cyberattack on the PDNS 2 database, data related to the arrivals of Indonesian migrant workers in November 2024 is currently unavailable but will be updated once the system is restored.

Top Destination Countries for Indonesian Migrant Workers from January to November 2024 (BP2MI Data)

1. Hong Kong: 92,836
2. Taiwan: 79,031
3. Malaysia: 43,833
4. Japan: 11,758
5. South Korea: 9,870
6. Singapore: 9,739
7. Saudi Arabia: 7,183
8. Italy: 3,177
9. Brunei: 2,852
10. Turkey: 2,561