7.7% of people with disabilities are employed — report

AMMAN — Nearly 9.9 per cent of people with disabilities aged 15 and above in Jordan are unemployed but actively looking for jobs, while those working constitute 7.7 per cent, according to a report released this week.

The report, conducted by the Higher Council for the Affairs of People with Disabilities (HCD) in cooperation with the Department of Statistics (DoS), put the disability rate in Jordan at 13 per cent.

"The disability rate is in line with global figures that say people with disabilities make up around 15 per cent of any given society," HH Prince Mired, HCD president, said at a ceremony to launch the study.

The report also showed that nearly 15 per cent of persons with disabilities in Jordan are above 15, 39 per cent of whom have not completed secondary education.

Moreover, the survey, conducted on a sample of 408 families in Amman and Zarqa, showed that functional difficulties related the inability to walk, climb stairs and see were the most prevalent forms of disabilities, while those related to self-care were the least common.

"Questions used in the report will be included in the [DoS] general population census report, to be carried out before the end of this year," said Prince Mired.

"The data will help the government and decision makers to take more suitable decisions regarding people with disabilities," he noted.

The prince added that the survey only provided a small and limited perspective on the situation and needs of those with disabilities, but the national census will provide a much greater picture.

He noted that the HCD has been cooperating with the Washington Group on Disability Statistics to be able to find the best tools to gauge the number and rate of persons with disabilities in Jordan.

DoS Director General Qassim Zu'bi said the survey can be used as a reference to measure disabilities, adding that the 2015 national census will be conducted in November.