The West Java Central Statistics Agency (BPS) recorded that the percentage of poor people in March 2024 was 7.46 percent or decreased by 0.16 percentage points compared to March 2023 and decreased by 0.52 percentage points compared to September 2022.

West Java BPS also noted that the percentage of urban poor in March 2023 was 7.19 percent, decreasing to 7.07 percent in March 2024.

Meanwhile, the percentage of poor rural residents in March 2023 was 9.30 percent, dropping to 9 point 07 percent in March 2024.

Member of the West Java DPRD, Yod Mintaraga asked the West Java Provincial Government to continue to suppress and alleviate poverty with various programs, one of which is increasing employment opportunities.

"One of the reasons for poverty in West Java is that the unemployment rate is still high, which is also the cause of the large number of unemployed, if there is a lot of unemployment, the purchasing power will be low," said Yod Mintaraga, when contacted some time ago.

According to Yod, employment really helps people improve their welfare and reduces the unemployment rate in West Java, which has a population of almost 50 million.

"To increase employment opportunities, investment in West Java is needed which is driven towards employment so that unemployment decreases," he said. (Parno)

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