800,000 guest workers are in Jordan — ministry

AMMAN — There are more than 800,000 guest workers in Jordan, only 300,000 of whom have valid work permits, according to a Labour Ministry report released on Tuesday.

The report indicates that 65 per cent of guest workers in the Kingdom are Egyptian, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra. Meanwhile, 100,000 guest workers have permits for agricultural work but 70 per cent of them are employed in other sectors, including industries limited to Jordanians, according to the report.

Ministry Spokesperson Mohammad Khatib said that the decision to stop recruiting guest workers was taken in light of the increasing rates of unemployment and the presence of so many unregulated guest workers.