The BKN data Zudan presented to Tirto (2026) breaks the 2,722 resignation filings down into 1,197 tenured civil servants (PNS, 44 percent), 1,146 part-time contract employees (PPPK Paruh Waktu, 42 percent), 227 contract-based government employees (PPPK, 8 percent), and 152 civil servant candidates (CPNS, 6 percent).
The comparison figure needs to sit right alongside it. According to Kompas.com (2026), the total number of ASN as of 1 July 2026 stood at 6,776,871 people. Against that base, 2,722 resignations amount to just 0.040 percent of the entire workforce — roughly four people out of every ten thousand employees over a six-month span. Private companies in Indonesia typically lose staff at rates in the low double digits, percentage-wise, per year.
BKN also has not yet released figures for the same period in previous years. Without that comparison, there is no basis for calling this number a rise, a fall, or a wave of any kind.
Who Is Actually Resigning
The label "young ASN" doesn't match the age breakdown. Citing BKN data reported by Tirto (2026), the 31–40 age group accounts for 33 percent of resignations, the 51–60 age group accounts for 32 percent, and the 21–30 age group makes up only 20 percent.
In other words, nearly a third of those resigning are close to retirement age. The reasons someone quits at 55 are clearly different from the reasons someone quits at 26. Pinning a single explanation on both groups produces a conclusion that sounds tidy but explains nothing.
Four in Ten of Those Who Resigned Are Part-Time Contract Employees
The statistic most widely cited by the media is that 58 percent of resignations came from employees with zero to five years of service. That figure is accurate, and most of the explanation behind it is simply technical.
Part-time contract employees (PPPK Paruh Waktu) account for 42 percent of all resignation filings. As reported by CNBC Indonesia (2026), this category was only introduced into the civil-service workforce structure in 2025, as a pathway for honorary/informal workers to gain formal status. Because the category itself is barely a year old, nearly every employee holding this status automatically falls into the "under five years of service" bracket. Much of the "58 percent" finding, then, describes the makeup of the population — not a shift in attitudes toward the job.
There's another layer to it. BKN data cited by Tirto (2026) shows that some PPPK and part-time PPPK employees resigned specifically because they passed a different civil-service selection process. The Deputy for Civil Apparatus Human Resources at the Ministry of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform (Kementerian PANRB), Aba Subagja, added in the same statement that expiring contracts were another cause. Some portion of the 2,722 people simply moved within the same system, or reached the end of their contract term — and both were still recorded as "resignations."
"ASN" No Longer Means One Employment Model
The bigger shift is happening on the other side of the ledger, and it's rarely discussed.
According to CNBC Indonesia (2026), the number of tenured civil servants (PNS) has shrunk by roughly 410,000 over the past five years, down to 3,480,108. Over the same period, contract-based government employees (PPPK) surged from 363,934 in 2022 to 2,076,163, with part-time PPPK now reaching 1,220,600 people. Quoted by RRI (2026), Zudan put the current composition of ASN at roughly 51 percent PNS and 49 percent PPPK, and described the decline in PNS numbers as an anomaly.
The difference is real enough to show up on the pay slip. Under Ministerial Decree No. 16 of 2025 from the Ministry of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform, reported by Detik (2026), part-time PPPK wages are set at a minimum equal to the employee's last income as a non-ASN worker, or the regional minimum wage — whichever applies — with funding drawn from the regional government budget (APBD) once the employee is appointed. For comparison, Statistics Indonesia (BPS, 2026) recorded the national average wage for laborers in February 2026 at Rp 3.29 million.
A single word — "ASN" — now covers two very different work experiences. One offers a career ladder and a pension. The other offers a fixed-term contract with wages that depend on how much money the regional government has on hand.
The Greatest Pressure Shows Up Among Part-Time Contract Employees
This is where the actual pattern becomes visible.
Calculations by IDN Research Institute, based on the two BKN datasets, put the resignation rate for PNS in the first half of 2026 at around 0.034 percent, compared with around 0.094 percent for part-time PPPK — a gap of roughly 2.7 times. This figure is indicative rather than precise; the method is explained in the methodology note at the end of this piece.
The group that most recently joined the ASN category is also the group whose data shows the clearest signs of strain.
For anyone in marketing or HR, the pattern will feel familiar. When an organization stretches its brand umbrella to cover a new scheme that offers a different experience, the first pressure always surfaces within that new scheme — because people arrive carrying expectations shaped by the old name. This is the real employer-branding problem the bureaucracy faces today, and it sits at the recruitment stage, long before an employee ever decides to stay or leave.
Interest in Becoming a Civil Servant Hasn't Actually Dropped
Demand remains strong. The National Civil Service Agency (BKN, 2024) recorded 3,963,832 applicants for the 2024 CPNS selection process, while BKN data reported by GoodStats (2026) put the number of available positions at 250,407 — roughly 16 applicants competing for every one slot.
Aba Subagja, quoted by Tirto (2026), also stressed that public interest in ASN selection still far outstrips the number of available positions.
What's creating pressure is the gap between applicants' expectations and the reality employees face on the job. According to Metrodaily (2026), BKN recorded 1,285 candidates who passed the 2024 CPNS selection process but then resigned anyway, with the main issue being job placements far from their hometown and family.
What the Government Needs to Fix
The reading above points toward a handful of steps that are technical in nature and could be implemented quickly.
Publish a time series, not a single semester's snapshot. Resignation data with no year-over-year comparison invites wild interpretation. BKN already has the numbers in its own system. Regular publication through the ASN Statistics Yearbook would close off room for speculation at close to zero cost.
Break resignation types apart in official reporting. An employee who leaves because they passed a different ASN selection process, and one whose contract simply expired, represent something very different from an employee who is leaving the bureaucracy altogether. Lumping all three into a single number means the government loses the very signal it needs.
Record exit reasons in a structured way. At the moment, resignation reasons are collected as a loose, varied list. A standardized exit-interview format, with fixed categories and consistent recordkeeping, would turn a pile of anecdotes into data the government can actually act on.
Pay closer attention to part-time contract employees. Because their wages depend on each region's fiscal capacity, this group's work experience will vary sharply from one area to another. Mapping regional budget capacity against the wage burden of this group is worth doing before their numbers grow any larger.
Align recruitment promises with the reality of placement. The case of 1,285 candidates who resigned over placement issues points to a communication problem right at the earliest stage. Clearer information about placement, offered from the moment someone applies, would lower early resignation rates without changing a single regulation.
The Changing Meaning of "ASN" Matters More Than the Number Who Left
The debate over civil servants supposedly abandoning the profession arrived too early. Public interest in becoming an ASN still outstrips the number of available seats many times over, and the resignation figure still sits at around four people per ten thousand employees.
What's actually shifting is the composition of the workforce itself. Now that nearly half of all ASN work under a scheme different from PNS, the word "ASN" no longer promises the same work experience to everyone who holds the title. Some get a career ladder and a pension. Others get a fixed-term contract paying close to the regional minimum wage.
Understanding that shift is far more useful than counting how many people chose to walk away.
Methodology Note
The total ASN population figure comes from the Head of BKN's presentation to House of Representatives (DPR) Commission II on 15 July 2026, with data as of 1 July 2026.
The proportions and resignation rates by employment status were calculated by IDN Research Institute, dividing the number of voluntary resignation filings from January through June 2026 by the number of employees in the corresponding status as of 1 July 2026. Because the numerator reflects a six-month flow and the denominator reflects a single point-in-time headcount, the resulting figures are indicative only and are not equivalent to a formally calculated employee turnover rate.
BKN has not yet published a breakdown of resignations by agency, so a ranking of the five agencies with the most resignation filings was not used in this analysis. Comparable data for the same period in prior years is also not yet available.
References
Badan Kepegawaian Negara. (2024, September 17). Pendaftaran di portal BKN berakhir, jumlah pelamar CPNS 2024 capai 3,9 juta. Retrieved August 6, 2026, from https://www.bkn.go.id/pendaftaran-di-portal-bkn-berakhir-jumlah-pelamar-cpns-2024-capai-39-juta/
Badan Pusat Statistik. (2026, May 5). Tingkat Pengangguran Terbuka (TPT) sebesar 4,68 persen. Rata-rata upah buruh sebesar 3,29 juta rupiah. Retrieved August 6, 2026, from https://www.bps.go.id/id/pressrelease/2026/05/05/2574/tingkat-pengangguran-terbuka--tpt--sebesar-4-68-persen--rata-rata-upah-buruh-sebesar-3-29-juta-rupiah-.html
CNBC Indonesia. (2026, July 17). PNS perlu ditambah, pemerintah buka lowongan CASN 2026? Retrieved August 6, 2026, from https://www.cnbcindonesia.com/news/20260717111109-4-751556/pns-perlu-ditambah-pemerintah-buka-lowongan-casn-2026
Detik. (2026, February 9). Berapa gaji PPPK paruh waktu 2026? Ini rinciannya lengkap. Retrieved August 6, 2026, from https://www.detik.com/jabar/jabar-gaskeun/d-8347505/berapa-gaji-pppk-paruh-waktu-2026-ini-rinciannya-lengkap
GoodStats. (2026, May 2). Ini dia jumlah formasi CASN tahun ke tahun. Retrieved August 6, 2026, from https://goodstats.id/article/ini-dia-jumlah-formasi-casn-tahun-ke-tahun-DX0Ga
Harian Bengkulu Ekspress. (2026, July 27). Wow! Ribuan CPNS mengundurkan diri, BKN cari cara agar ASN lebih dekat dengan keluarga. Retrieved August 6, 2026, from https://harianbengkuluekspress.bacakoran.co/nasional/read/55075/wow-ribuan-cpns-mengundurkan-diri-bkn-cari-cara-agar-asn-lebih-dekat-dengan-keluarga
Kompas.com. (2026, July 15). BKN ungkap jumlah ASN per 1 Juli 2026 sebanyak 6,776 juta orang. Retrieved August 6, 2026, from https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2026/07/15/14234161/bkn-ungkap-jumlah-asn-per-1-juli-2026-sebanyak-6776-juta-orang
Radio Republik Indonesia. (2026, July 15). BKN soroti penurunan jumlah PNS di tengah lonjakan PPPK. Retrieved August 6, 2026, from https://rri.co.id/nasional/2570656/bkn-soroti-penurunan-jumlah-pns-di-tengah-lonjakan-pppk
Ramadhanty, N. (2026, July 12). Tak menunggu pensiun, mengapa sebagian ASN muda memilih resign? Tirto.id. Retrieved August 6, 2026, from https://tirto.id/tak-menunggu-pensiun-mengapa-sebagian-asn-muda-memilih-resign-hztK
