‘A Ticking Time Bomb’: An Economic Crisis Looms in Indonesia

Novri Putra graduated from college in Jakarta last year with a degree in information technology and a modest ambition: a stable job.

He had every reason to believe that he was on track. When he entered college in 2018, Indonesia’s economy was flourishing. Its tech sector was booming and demand for software engineers was surging.

Those days are over. Today, Mr. Novri, 28, works for a tech company — not as a web developer, as he had hoped, but as a motorcycle taxi driver making about $220 a month.

“My parents scold me almost every day,” Mr. Novri said. “Honestly, they probably feel a sense of shame that their child went to college and ended up as a motorcycle taxi driver.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/19/business/indonesia-economy-stocks.html