Unemployment in Jordan up to 18.6% in Q4 2018

AMMAN — Unemployment in Jordan has reached 18.6 per cent during the fourth quarter of 2018, up by 0.2 per cent from the figures of same period of 2017, the Department of Statistics (DoS) announced on Thursday.

Geographically, Madaba topped the Kingdom’s governorates in the rates of unemployment at 28.5 per cent, while Irbid recorded the lowest rate at 15.7 per cent. The rate among men increased by 0.8 per cent, to 16.9 per cent, and dropped among females by approximately 1.8 per cent to 25.7 per cent, compared with the same period of 2017, according to the DoS report.

Among males who hold an undergraduate degree or higher, the rate of unemployment stood at 23.2 per cent, while it stood at 78.2 per cent among females, the figures show.

The DoS said 61.4 per cent of male workers did not complete high school, compared with 16.2 per cent of female employees. The figures also disclosed that women who hold a bachelor’s degree and above comprise 67.1 per cent of female workers, compared with 23.9 per cent for males.