Jakarta – Indonesia expects remittances from its overseas workers to rise to around $10 billion next year as the global economy improves, the head of a state agency in charge of migrant workers told Reuters on Friday.

The head of the agency, Jumhur Hidayat, had said in February 2009 remittances could drop by 5-10 percent from an estimated $8.2 billion in 2008 due to the global crisis, "We expect remittances from about six million Indonesian worker to reach around $10 billion next year," Hidayat said.

He did not provide a figure for this year's remittances, although based on his estimate in February the figure could be $7.4-$7.8 billion.

A recovery in the global economy should increase the number of migrant workers going to other countries, said Hidayat.

The official said that the number of Indonesian workers going to South Korea, for example, had fallen to 3,000 this year from 12,000 in 2008, but that figure could rebound to around last year's figure in 2010.

Some analysts and policy makers argue that the government should seek to increase the number of Indonesian workers earning abroad so that their currency remittances help reduce the volatility in the Indonesian rupiah.

[Reporting by Dicky Kristanto; Writing by Andreas Ismar; Editing by Ed Davies.]