The unemployment rate in the Kingdom decreased during the third quarter of this year by 1.6 percent, compared to the second quarter of the same year, and a decrease of 0.7 percent compared to the third quarter of last year, to record 23.2 percent.

The Department of Statistics indicated in its quarterly report on the unemployment rate today, Monday, that the unemployment rate for males during the third quarter of this year amounted to 21.2 percent, compared to 30.8 percent for females. It is clear that the male unemployment rate has remained stable and decreased for females by 2.8 percentage points compared to In the third quarter of last year.

The unemployment rate for males decreased in the third quarter of this year compared to the second quarter of the same year by 1.5 percentage points, and decreased for females by 2.3 percentage points. The unemployment rate recorded a rise among university degree holders (unemployed individuals who hold a bachelor’s degree or higher divided by the labor force for the same educational qualification), reaching 27.8 percent compared to other educational levels.

The results indicated that 56.2 percent of the total unemployed were holders of secondary school certificates or higher, and that 43.8 percent of the total unemployed had educational qualifications below high school.

The percentage of the unemployed varied according to educational level and gender, as the percentage of males holding a bachelor’s degree was 27.7%, compared to 82.1 percent for females.

At the governorate level, the highest unemployment rate was recorded in Tafila, at 29 percent, and the lowest in Madaba, at 20.3 percent.

The percentage of employed people from the total population 15 years and over reached 26.4 percent, and 58.3 percent of the male workers were concentrated in the age group 20-39 years, while the percentage of females was 60.2 percent. The results showed a clear discrepancy in the distribution of the labor force by educational level and gender, as 57.6 percent of the total male labor force had below secondary education levels, compared to 10.8 percent for females. The results also indicated that 73 percent of the total female labor force had a bachelor’s degree or higher education level, compared to 25.9 percent among males.

(Petra)