PORTALJABAR, BANDUNG CITY - The West Java Provincial Government (Pemprov) has achieved high performance in regional development by 2025, with a score of 3.6672, according to the Minister of Home Affairs' decision. Some positive impacts of this high performance include a reduction in poverty and open unemployment rates in West Java.

According to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the percentage of the poor in West Java in 2025 will be 6.78 percent, or 3.55 million people. This figure is down from 7.08 percent the previous year.

Deputy Governor of West Java Erwan Setiawan said that the West Java Provincial Government has made several efforts to reduce poverty levels, starting from reducing pockets of poverty, reducing the burden of expenditure and increasing the income of the poor.

In reducing pockets of poverty, the West Java Provincial Government monitors the locations of areas vulnerable to food insecurity and compiles maps of food insecurity and security.

Meanwhile, to reduce public spending, the West Java Provincial Government implemented the Affordable Food Movement 1,874 times in 27 regencies/cities and Subsidized Market Operations throughout 2025. These activities provided the public with access to affordable food commodities.

Efforts to reduce the expenditure of poor people are also being implemented through the health sector, energy and mineral resources.

"The West Java Provincial Government is financing health insurance premiums for the poor, thereby reducing their expenses," Erwan said on Monday (30/3/2026).

In the energy and mineral resources sector, efforts to reduce the burden of expenditure on the poor are carried out by increasing the provision of electricity networks.

The West Java Provincial Government has identified data on 76,123 low-income communities receiving electricity connections in 1,367 villages/sub-districts.

The final effort is to increase the income of the poor. This effort is being carried out by providing training for Indonesian migrant workers.

"We also distributed business capital assistance to 57 joint business groups (KUBE) to increase the income of the poor," said Erwan.

Unemployment rate falls

In addition to the poverty rate, open unemployment in West Java was also successfully reduced to 6.66 percent in 2025. Compared to 6.75 percent in 2024, the open unemployment rate in 2025 decreased by 0.09 percent. This means that out of every 100 people in the workforce, six to seven remain unemployed.

The actual reduction in the open unemployment rate in 2025 exceeded the set target of 6.99 percent. This figure is based on the results of the national labor force survey as of November 2025.

Erwan said the driving factor for a decrease in West Java's open unemployment rate by 2025 is the absorption of labor across all business sectors.

There was an increase in employment in the agriculture, forestry, and fisheries sectors (0.10 million people), the education sector (0.05 million people) and the provision of accommodation and food and beverages (0.04 million people).

On the other hand, the employment sector that experienced a decrease in labor absorption was the mining and quarrying sector (0.04 million people).

Meanwhile, the sectors that contribute to absorbing the most labor are car and motorbike repair and maintenance (22.44 percent), processing industry (18.61 percent), and agriculture, forestry and fisheries (15.43 percent).