Unemployment rate rises in first quarter

AMMAN — Unemployment in Jordan stood at 12.9 per cent in the first quarter of 2015, reaching 11 per cent among men and 22.1 per cent among women.

The overall unemployment rate in the first three months of this year increased by 0.6 percentage points compared with the last three months of 2014, according to a statement released by the Department of Statistics (DoS).

Unemployment among men in the first quarter increased by 0.1 percentage points for men and 3 points for women, compared to the fourth quarter of 2014.

DoS data showed that the unemployment rate among university degree holders stood at 18.7 per cent, while 55.1 per cent of the unemployed have a secondary school certificate or higher, and 44.6 per cent hold academic qualifications less than the secondary school certificate.

Unemployed men who hold a bachelor’s degree or higher constituted 24.3 per cent, compared to 77 per cent among women, the DoS report showed.

On a governorate basis, Maan registered the highest unemployment rate (16.7 per cent), while Jerash had the lowest rate (9.8 per cent).

The DoS study covered a sample of 13,000 households across the Kingdom.

Around 60.9 per cent of employed men are between the ages of 20 and 39, while 70.5 per cent of employed women are within the same age group.

The survey showed that 62.7 per cent of employed women had a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared with 20.4 per cent among working men.