Indonesia's economy, getting a boost from strong private consumption and investment flows, expanded by 6.5 percent in the first quarter compared to the year before, the Central Bureau of Statistics announced in Jakarta Thursday.

Although slower compared to the preceding quarter's 6.89 percent rise, the January-March 2011 performance supports government optimism about an expected full-year growth of at least 6.5 percent, according to analysts.

Thursday's announcement coincided with official reports of a decline in the unemployment rate to 6.8 percent, or 8.1 million individuals, in February compared to the previous 7.14 percent in August 2010.

The first-quarter rise in the gross domestic product got the biggest push from private consumption, which accounted for 2.6 percent percentage points of the total growth rate, according to the statistics office.

On the other hand, government spending, the traditional source of GDP expansion, grew by 3 percent in the first quarter, slower from the 7.3 percent jump in the preceding quarter, the data indicated.

Meanwhile, investments in the first quarter expanded by 27.3 percent from the year-ago mark, while exports rose by 27.5 percent and imports by a faster 32 percent, the statistics bureau said.

With the positive record in the first quarter, analysts now expect Indonesian monetary authorities to defer a further tightening even as the rupiah has exhibited steady increases in the currency market.

Inflation has also eased to a six-month low in April, according to statistics released earlier this week, prompting finance officials to expect price increases to stay "within targets" for the rest of the year.