REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Indonesian migrant workers were able to send money to Indonesia amounting to US$7.4 billion or about Rp88.6 trillion in 2013, stated a senior manpower official.

On Tuesday, Head of the National Agency for Placement and Protection of Indonesian Workers Abroad (BNP2TKI) Moh Jumhur Hidayat remarked that the remittances excluded the money carried in the form of cash by the workers when they returned to Indonesia.

"The amount also excluded the money sent by the workers employed abroad through services apart from banks, such as postal transfer, Western Union, and other services," Jumhur added.

In total, the Indonesian workers' remittances could reach Rp120 trillion per annum.

He pointed out that currently, there are about six million Indonesian workers employed in 160 countries.

"This means that the presence of six million Indonesian workers abroad has helped the government to reduce its unemployment rate at home. They support some 30 million people, assuming that each worker has four family members," Jumhur claimed.

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