Jobs most in demand in 2016 were in administration, finance — study

AMMAN — The most demanded jobs during 2016 according to advertisements were in administration and finance, while those least in demand were in science fields, according to a study released on Tuesday. 

A total of 29.1 per cent of advertised jobs were administrative and financial, followed by educational jobs (22.1 per cent) and vocational jobs (12.9 per cent), according to the Phenix Centre for Economic and Informatics Studies.

The centre conducted the study to analyse employment in Jordan for 2016 and identify the types and nature of the jobs in demand, and the kind of majors and skills they require.

Phenix Centre Director Ahmad Awad said the centre’s team analysed a sample of 2,042 vacancies announced in Jordanian newspapers during 2016, noting that the sample was chosen over two stages.

The advertisements were observed during January and July of last year, Awad said, explaining that the two months reflect the demand levels in the beginning of the year and in the middle of it. 

The study revealed that 55.2 per cent of the announced vacancies during 2016 did not require a certain academic level while 59.2 per cent did not demand a specific degree or major.

The least advertisements were for jobs in the field of pure sciences, like chemistry, biology, maths and physics, at 3.2 per cent.

The jobs that required computer skills stood at 12.8 per cent, while jobs that required proficiency in English stood at 19.4 per cent, according to the study. 

The vacancies that required technical skills related to the job in question stood at 14.3 per cent.

Most of the job advertisements last year did not specify certain years of experience, standing at 62.2 per cent out of the total surveyed ads, the study said.

Around 80 per cent of the announced vacancies were in Jordan, while the rest were abroad, mostly in Gulf Arab countries. 

Around 80.4 per cent of the advertisements published in Jordanian newspapers were not gender-specific, while 9.7 per cent specified that males were wanted for the job and 9.9 specified that females were wanted for the job, according to the study. 

The study also showed that 83.9 per cent of the advertised vacancies were published in the Arabic language while the rest were published in English. 

It also showed that 62.5 per cent did not demand “experience”. 

However, in terms of sectors, 60 per cent of the ads in the field of information technology required previous years of experience. 

Around 53.4 per cent of ads for vacancies in medical and healthcare jobs also required experience. 

Some 47.7 per cent of advertised jobs in engineering also asked for experience.