Jakarta – Unemployment in Indonesia jumped to 13.5 million on April 24 from 8.8 million in March, according to the latest figures from the Manpower Department, the Republika newspaper reported on Monday.

"The number of unemployed will continue to rise if the economic crisis does not end soon," the paper quoted Endang Sulistyaningsih, head of planning at the Manpower Department, as saying.

She said it would be difficult to overcome the problem because the number of unemployed had risen drastically.

Indonesia is facing its worst economic crisis in decades which led to the country seeking a bail-out package worth over $40 billion led by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). REUTERS

[Economic analysts have said unemployment figures given by the Indonesian government understate the extent of the problem since only companies which lay off more than nine workers in a day have to report the figures. They have also said underemployment in could be in the region of 50 percent of a total workforce of 90 million - James Balowski.]