Robert Go, Jakarta – After the private bank that Ms Sri Astuti worked for folded in 1998, she sought a clerical job at other offices. When no suitable offer came after three months, the mother of two used most of her savings to open a warung, or foodstall, near her home.
Instead of counting bank notes and serving customers queuing up for their cash, she now refers to family recipes and dishes out nasi campur to hungry pedestrians. She no longer has a regular salary, health insurance, transport or education allowances.
Her family's welfare depends on factors as diverse as the weather – more people take shelter, and eat or drink at her stall when it rains – or the price of rice.
"I work longer hours. My income is up and down. But at least I have a sumber kehidupan – a source of livelihood. That's better than many others," she said.
She lives within the underground economy, which according to analysts, now provides shelter for between 65 per cent and 70 per cent of Indonesia's 100 million workers. That estimate is a hefty rise from pre-crisis figures of around 55 per cent in 1996, when the country enjoyed 8 per cent annual economic growth.
Those in the underground share some characteristics: they pay no taxes, follow few government regulations, and are not registered with government offices. Many have no distinct or long-term places of business.
The underground economy's "anything-goes" nature makes it a difficult subject matter to pin down precisely. But estimates are that its value could reach as much as US$150 billion, the equivalent of Indonesia's formal GDP.
Labour economist Asep Suryahadi from the Smeru Research Institute said: "The numbers are difficult to gauge. But it is clear that as Indonesia fails to attract investments and generate jobs, more people are forced to go underground."
Notwithstanding its huge size, the underground economy is also very fluid. People shift jobs, depending on availability, profitability and need. Informal-sector workers also adjust to shifting markets by moving locations or altering working hours to where and when their services are more in demand.
Mr Wicaksono Sarosa of the Urban and Regional Development Institute described the underground economy as Indonesia's "most important social safety net".
"The sector gives incomes to people who would otherwise be unemployed. There is no barrier. Anyone willing to work can get jobs," he said. "Without such a system, Indonesia's unemployment crisis would have translated into much more serious social problems, including crime, a long time ago."
The economist was referring to about eight million people, who sit around twiddling their thumbs all day, and an additional 30 million who work part-time jobs.
Each year, experts say, that population grows by two to three million as newcomers hit the job market but cannot find formal-sector work. With Indonesia showing only 3 to 4 per cent growth in recent years, these young people have no choice but to enter the informal sector.
Mr Raden Pardede, economist for state-owned securities firm Danareksa, said: "The entire country can fall asleep and do nothing, and the economy will grow by 3 per cent. This growth adds no new jobs to the market."
That is why the underground economy, with its ability to absorb the unemployed and give them sources of livelihood, is very important to Indonesia right now. The system, however, is not without limits and dilemmas.
Mr Didik Rachbini of Institute for Development of Economics and Finance listed low productivity as a key characteristic and problem. "People are rarely organised. Incomes are low as they are directly related to the efforts and resources put into the process. That's not the way to improve welfare."
Others noted that difficulty in attaining credit – to be used to expand businesses – from financial institutions is another big problem.
People involved in the informal sector are also susceptible to ups and downs in the formal economy, as well as emergencies and natural disasters like floods and fires. During last year's flooding in Jakarta, Ms Astuti had to close her kiosk for over a week.
The biggest worry, however, is the fact that the underground economy keeps on growing, at the expense of formal economic activities.
The government only collects tax revenues from the formal sector, which right now is shrinking. Analysts declined to estimate how much this lost income is worth.
Mr Didik, who described the underground sector as "the thing that has kept Indonesia together so far", warned that its size shows "dangerous abnormalities at work within the economy".
So what has the government done? Social activists like Urban Poor Consortium's Wardah Hafidz said government policies continue to neglect, if not harm, the neediest.
An example is Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso's plan last year to get rid of shantytown areas that have cropped up. He ordered security forces to evict squatters and then bulldoze the land. Another programme involved clearing the streets of vendors and rickshaw-like becaks.
Ms Wardah said: "These are precisely the people who should be receiving help. But instead, the government takes away their homes and means of making a living."