 In the early 1990s, manufacturing sector used to be an engine of growth in Indonesia's economy. Factory after factory was opened, providing millions jobs to Indonesians. And this picture behind me is a garment factory. You probably have come across the products that these women made when your clothes are labelled Made in Indonesia. However, as time goes on, the number of manufacturing jobs have been declining. Fewer manufacturing jobs mean fewer good jobs. For someone who comes from poor backgrounds, which more than 20 million Indonesians do, one of the few assets that they have is their own labour. And if you provide them with a good job, you're giving them a chance, an opportunity to earn their way out of poverty. In my research, I investigate what causes the declining manufacturing jobs in Indonesia. If we know the cause, we can do something about it. My research asks if the declining manufacturing jobs is due to increased labour regulations. Regulations have good intentions to protect the workers' welfare, however they often have unintended consequences. One regulation I'm looking at is the minimum wage, the lowest amount anyone can pay their workers. Between 2000 and 2013, the average minimum wage in Indonesia increased significantly. In nominal terms, it was a six-fold increase within a span of 13 years. There was also uncertainty on how much the minimum wage across districts would increase every single year. My analysis covers more than 100 districts in Java Island, which holds more than 80% of manufacturing firms in Indonesia. I use regression analysis, and my dataset consists of more than 20,000 firms, which allow me to track changes in manufacturing jobs over the years. My research found that, indeed, minimum wage contributed to declining manufacturing jobs in Indonesia. The fall in employment is higher for female workers and for those sectors which are more labour-intensive, such as those producing clothes and shoes that you and I might be wearing today. The minimum wage policy was intended at protecting the workers' welfare. However, as I found in my research, it led to employment loss, which had those workers the policy was trying to protect. I hope my research could provide evidence to policymakers to rethink how they should approach the minimum wage policy so that we have labour regulations that both protect the workers' welfare and not stifle job creations.