Tafileh, Zarqa governorates top Jordan’s unemployment list

AMMAN — The unemployment rate during the first quarter of 2014 went down slightly compared to the same period of last year, according to the latest survey conducted by the Department of Statistics (DoS). Unemployment reached 11.8 per cent in January-March 2014 compared with 12.8 per cent during the same period in 2013, the DoS report said, indicating that the unemployment rate is particularly high, at 18.1 per cent, among holders of postgraduate degrees. Unemployment stood at 26 per cent for male holders of university and postgraduate degrees against 76 per cent for female degree holders, the survey showed. The highest unemployment rates  were registered among the 15-19 and 20-24 age groups, standing at 36.6 per cent and 27.9 per cent respectively. The highest unemployment rates were registered in Tafileh and Zarqa governorates, reaching 18.9 per cent and 8.1 per cent respectively.