JAKARTA, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- The number of poor people in Indonesia has decreased, and job creation has risen as the government prudently allocates fiscal support, a minister said on Monday.

Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati reported that the poverty rate in the country fell to 9.03 percent in 2024 from 9.36 percent in 2023. Similarly, the extreme poverty rate dropped to 0.83 percent in 2024 from 1.12 percent in the previous year.

The Gini ratio, a measure of inequality, declined to 0.379 in 2024 from 0.388 in 2023, she added.

In the labor market, the unemployment rate decreased to 4.91 percent in 2024, compared to 5.32 percent in 2023, with 4.78 million new jobs created during the year.

"These are the results of collective efforts and effective state budget allocations, which served to protect the people and the economy," she said during a press conference.

The country's central bank, Bank Indonesia, refrained from raising interest rates multiple times amid global uncertainty to support economic expansion. ■