Weak Investment To Weigh On Growth.

Indonesia's economy has yet to recover fully from the Asian financial crisis of 1997-1998. The economy is not growing nearly fast enough to create enough jobs for new labor-force entrants and unemployment is steadily climbing upwards. Meanwhile, Indonesia's external sector has been badly affected by a slump in world trade since 2001. There are, nonetheless, signs of recovery. Inflation has dropped to considerably, paving the way for much-needed cuts in interest rates. Long-stalled structural reforms have begun to move forward under the government of President Megawati Sukarnoputri, which took office in August 2002, after parliament ousted the hapless administration of former president Abdurrahman Wahid.