Unemployment increases to 15.3 per cent, new figures show

AMMAN — The unemployment rate in 2016 increased by 1.6 per cent, reaching 15.3 per cent, compared to 13.7 per cent in 2000, the Department of Statistics (DoS) announced on Sunday.

Unemployment among males in 2016 stood at 13.3 per cent, up by 1 per cent from the 12.3 per cent rate in 2000, while female unemployment went up by 3.1 per cent, from 21 to 24.1 per cent, between 2000 and 2016, a DoS statement showed.

The DoS statement included unemployment rates only for Jordanians, who are 15 years and older between 2000 and 2016. The unemployment rate was the lowest in 2014, when it stood at 11.9 per cent, while 2002 and 2016 saw the highest rate in the 2000-2016 period, standing at 15.3 per cent.