Indonesia Suffers First Recession in over 20 Years, Finmin Says "Worst is Over"
Indonesia’s economy has fallen into recession for the first time since the Asian financial crisis more than two decades. However, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said that the "the worst is over".
A drink vendor rides his bicycle reflected in a puddle in the main business district in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020. Indonesia\'s economy entered its first recession since the Asian financial crisis more than two decades ago as the country struggles to curb the coronavirus pandemic under control.
JAKARTA, Nov 5 -- Indonesia suffered its first recession in over two decades as the COVID-19 pandemic hit consumption and business activity in Southeast Asia\'s largest economy, costing millions of jobs, the statistics bureau said on Thursday.
Gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by a slightly more than expected 3.49% year-on-year as household consumption and investment fell in the third quarter, official data showed. Economists in a Reuters poll had expected GDP to decline 3% after a 5.32% contraction in the second quarter.