TRENGGALEK – The Trenggalek administration has started reviewing a minus growth ASN policy that could reduce future civil servant recruitment in the region. The move may significantly narrow opportunities for residents seeking government jobs.

Local officials said the policy discussion emerged after the central government imposed tighter limits on regional personnel spending through Indonesia’s Financial Relations Law between Central and Regional Governments, widely known as the HKPD Law.

Under the regulation, regional governments cannot allocate more than 30 percent of their budgets to employee spending. As a result, the Trenggalek administration must become more selective when hiring new civil servants.

Trenggalek Regional Secretary Edy Soepriyanto said the spending cap had become a serious consideration in planning future ASN recruitment.

“There is now a maximum limit of 30 percent for employee spending. This has become an important factor in determining future ASN needs,” Edy said on Monday.

For years, the central government applied a zero growth recruitment system. Under that scheme, the government replaced one retiring civil servant with one new recruit.

However, officials now expect the policy to shift toward minus growth. That approach would reduce the total number of civil servants instead of maintaining existing staffing levels.

“With zero growth, one retiree gets replaced by one new employee. In the future, it could shift to minus growth, meaning the total number of ASN employees would decrease,” Edy explained.

The possible policy shift has raised concerns among job seekers in Trenggalek and nearby areas. Many residents still view civil service positions as stable and highly competitive careers.

Edy warned that future recruitment opportunities would likely become more limited because the regional government must balance staffing needs with fiscal capacity.

“With this condition, opportunities to become ASN employees will become more limited because we must adjust to budget capabilities,” he said.

Even so, the Trenggalek administration has not finalized the recruitment policy. Officials are still waiting for technical guidelines from the central government regarding which positions regional administrations can open.

Priority sectors such as education and healthcare will likely remain exempt from major reductions because both fields continue to require large numbers of workers.

“We are still waiting for further regulations. Usually teachers and health workers remain priorities,” Edy added.

The minus growth review signals a major change in Indonesia’s regional civil service recruitment strategy. Analysts believe competition for ASN positions could become tougher in the coming years as local governments tighten spending and reduce available job openings.