The effect of changes in labor absorption on structural economic transformation in Riau province before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Department of Environmental Geography, Faculty of Geography, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta

^* Corresponding author: ratrihfitria.putri@ugm.ac.id

Abstract

Riau, as a province with a population of more than 50%, including the labor force, certainly has an impact on the dynamics of labor absorption. This study aims to analyze the shift in labor absorption and its effect on the structural transformation of the economy in Riau Province during the pre-pandemic (2018–2019) and during the pandemic (2020) as well as the employment challenges faced by Riau Province using quantitative descriptive methods. The measurement of employment conditions uses secondary data obtained from the publications of the Central Statistics Agency. The results of the analysis show that employment in Riau Province has begun to shift (structural transformation) from the primary sector, such as agriculture, to the secondary sector, such as industry, and tertiary sectors such as trade and services, especially in urban areas such as Dumai City and Pekanbaru in the pre-pandemic period. In addition, it can be seen that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected structural transformation changes, marked by an increase in the primary sector workforce and a decrease in the secondary and tertiary sector workforce during the 2020 pandemic.