Report says unemployment rate remains unchanged over a decade

AMMAN — The unemployment rate in Jordan ranged between 11 and 14 per cent over the past 10 years with no significant improvement as most of the “created vacancies” are held by guest workers, according to a report released Wednesday.

Although the demand for jobs has increased in the Kingdom, the number of vacancies has declined over the past few years, the Phenix Centre for Economic and Informatics Studies report said.

The study, released on the occasion of Labour Day, which is annually observed on May 1, said 50,000 jobs were available in Jordan in 2013 and 2012 compared with 55,000 in 2011, and 66,000 in 2010.

A total of 23,000 job opportunities were available in the first half of 2014, the centre said, noting that the challenges facing Jordanian workers have remained the same over the past few years.

One of the main challenges is low wages compared to high prices of commodities, with the majority of workers receiving less than the minimum wage of JD190, according to the report.

A Department of Statistics (DoS) statement outlined similar challenges, reporting that guest workers are competing with Jordanians for jobs, which exacerbates unemployment in the Kingdom.

However, DoS did not provide figures on the number of guest workers in Jordan.

The DoS report also showed that women’s participation in the workforce in still low, standing at 12.6 per cent in 2014.

The average monthly salary of men employed in the private sector is JD489, while the average salary for women is JD381, according to the Social Security Corporation database.

In the public sector, the average salary of women stands at JD459, compared to JD407 for men.

The employment of persons with disabilities is also below expectations.

A report issued by the Phenix Centre last December showed that the employment rate of people with disabilities is around 1 per cent in the public sector and 0.5 per cent in the private sector.

To create a better work environment for Jordanians, the Jordan Human Rights Society called for revisiting wages in both the private and public sectors, and increasing the minimum wage.

The society also called for drafting a law that allows labourers in the public sector to establish trade unions.