1.2m Jordan residents work in informal economy — report

AMMAN — The Jordan Strategy Forum (JSF) on Monday released a report on the occasion of International Labour Day, which falls annually on May 1.

The report, titled "The Informal Economy in Jordan: A Hidden Opportunity for Increased Productivity and Economic Growth" falls within the JSF knowledge reports series aimed to shed light on figures and facts about the informal economy, also known as the unofficial economy, in Jordan.

The report showed that estimates from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) indicate that around 1.207 million people in Jordan earn their living via the informal economy, with the majority being male.

Additionally, the report highlighted a decrease in the growth rate of the informal labour force from 15.7 per cent in 2019 to 5.2 per cent in 2020 and -5.0 per cent in 2021, according to a JSF statement. 

Citing the 2021Social Security Corporation's annual report, the report said that number of employed Jordanian subscribers was 1,243,635, while the total number of Jordanian and non-Jordanian subscribers was 1,412,041. 

The forum explained that based on these figures, the percentage of informal labour to the total labour force equals 46.1 per cent, which is a percentage close to the ILO’s estimate of 51.6 per cent. 

The report emphasised that the percentage of informal labour in Jordan is relatively high compared to other countries such as Ireland, Sweden and Belgium.

The report also addressed the main reasons prompting people to turn to informal labour, which include tax evasion, social security subscription nonpayment, compliance of work evasion, legal and administrative regulations avoidance, and other factors.