Jordan News

Economists and sociologists believe that the current economic situation threatens the safety and security of Jordanian society and that the government needs to find appropriate solutions very soon.

The country’s unemployment rate decreased by 0.1 percent in the third quarter of 2021, compared to the third quarter of 2020; It was 23.3 percent last year.

The unemployment rate among males reached 21 percent in 2021, after decreasing by 1.2 percent from the previous year, while female unemployment decreased by 2.1 percent, to reach 30.7 percent in 2021, and unemployment among holders of secondary degrees and above reached 52.4 percent.

Absence of plans

Economic analyst Mazen Irsheed said that the government does not seem to be able to deal with unemployment rates and it takes a long time to solve this problem, despite the fact that most economic sectors are fully open after the Corona pandemic.

Irsheed believes that the government does not have a clear plan to reduce the high unemployment rate, while the government sector is the largest in terms of employment by 40 percent, and as such, the private sector should participate more in the employment process, he said.

One of the solutions Irsheed suggested is for Jordanian banks, in cooperation with the Central Bank, to allocate a certain percentage of their deposits, totaling 37 billion Jordanian dinars, to provide low-interest, long-term loans to enable individuals to start small businesses.

Irsheed said that one of the reasons for the high unemployment rates is the high costs of labor in Jordan, including social security at 22 percent, “the highest in the region,” which negatively affects employment in the private sector, another reason is the decline in foreign investment in the country.

“The government should reconsider investment costs, such as social security and energy costs, to attract foreign investors and reduce unemployment,” he added.

The government is unable to hire

For his part, economic writer Salama Al-Darawi said that a rise in unemployment rates is expected due to the decline in economic growth (which is now 2.5 percent), the chronic budget deficit, and the high level of indebtedness in the country, which drains allocations of approximately 1.6 billion dinars, equivalent to 10 % of the amount spent to pay interest on the debt.

According to Al-Darawi, the government is unable to employ more people or create new job opportunities, while the private sector is suffering from high inflation, and the number of workers is so large that the effect of creating new job opportunities is minimal.

At the same time, the job market in the Gulf is no longer what it used to be, and travel to look for work has dropped dramatically as Gulf countries implement policies that prioritize their citizens over other nationalities.

Al-Daraawi said that 165,000 people enter the labor market every year, 88,000 of whom have a university degree, explaining that even when the economy was at its peak and the growth rate was 7 percent, it was not able to provide more than 56,000 people.

“Given the current low rate of economic growth, it is easy to see the significant weakness in the ability to create jobs,” Darawi added.

He believed that the only solution is to review investment policies in order to achieve higher growth rates, and stressed that investment should acquire a top priority, and the government should provide incentives to investors by reviewing the investment law and labor contracts to ensure the employment of local workers.

At the same time, the government must work to remove the current obstacles and challenges that hinder business development. Al-Darawi explained that this can be achieved if the government listens to the private sector and helps it solve administrative and financial problems.

Serious repercussions of unemployment

In turn, Professor of Sociology Hussain Al-Khuzaie said that the figures show a worrying situation, especially that unemployment among holders of a bachelor’s degree is very high and is 79 percent among women and 26 percent among men, and women’s economic participation is only 13 percent.

According to Al-Khuzaie, the first social repercussions of unemployment is the loss of confidence in all government institutions.

He indicated that confidence in political parties is 12 percent, parliament 15 percent, trade unions 40 percent, the media 40 percent, and the government 67 percent.

Al-Khuzaie said that these percentages are reflected in the large proportion of people who do not want to participate in political life.

Al-Khuzaie added that unemployment has social repercussions as well, as the average age of marriage for males has risen to 31 years, while it has reached 27 years for females.

Money was also reported to be the root cause of 66 per cent of crimes in Jordan, including theft, bribery, check fraud and inability to pay debts.

At the same time, unemployed individuals can experience mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety, suicide, and increase domestic violence.