Over 30% of young Jordanians unemployed — report

AMMAN — The rate of youth unemployment in Jordan is one of the highest in the world and there should be policies in place to reduce this “problem”, the Phenix Centre for Economic and Informatics Studies said on Monday.

In a study released to mark World Youth Day, annually observed on August 12, the centre said unemployment among Jordanians between the ages of 15 and 19 is 36 per cent, while the rate stands at 30.8 per cent among those aged between 20 and 24 years.

The International Labour Organisation defines youths as those aged between 15 and 24.

Phenix Centre Director Ahmad Awad said the weak economic policies related to employment and education are to blame for the high unemployment rates, noting that they do not properly address the development needs of the Jordanian community. 

Annually, there are 100,000 new job seekers in the Kingdom, while official studies and policies put the figure at between 60,000 to 70,000, according to Awad.

The jobs created over the past few years in Jordan were less than the number of new job seekers, according to the centre.

The figures showed that 50,000 new job opportunities were available in 2012, while the number stood at 55,000 in 2011 and 66,000 a year earlier. 

Meanwhile, a statement issued by the Department of Statistics (DoS) on Monday said 1.4 million Jordanians were between the ages of 15 and 24 in 2013, constituting 21.6 per cent of the country’s population.

The economic contribution of youths in Jordan is 16.1 per cent, which is considered a low rate according to DoS. 

The statement attributed the low contribution to the fact that most of the youths are still pursuing their education.