Young Jordanians continue to face compounding economic, educational, and operational challenges, led by high unemployment rates, a mismatch between educational outcomes and labor market needs, and limited access to decent work and social protection, the Jordan Labour Observatory said on Wednesday.
اضافة اعلان
In a statement issued to mark International Youth Day, observed annually on August 12, the Observatory highlighted that recent official data shows youth unemployment remaining at alarming levels. The unemployment rate among Jordanians aged 15 to 24 reached 45% during the first quarter of 2026, meaning nearly half of the country's youth are unemployed.
The Observatory noted that while the creation of new jobs has risen in recent years—with net job creation exceeding 48,000 during the first half of 2025, a notable increase compared to prior years—it has failed to adequately reduce youth unemployment.
This persistence raises questions regarding the stability, sustainability, and quality of newly created jobs, as well as their alignment with young people's qualifications, the Observatory said. It called for a shift in focus beyond mere job volume toward creating decent, productive, and stable employment while modernizing the education system to meet market demands.
Against this backdrop, the Observatory pointed out that the recent release of the 2026 Tawjihi (General Secondary Education Certificate Examination) results—which yielded an overall pass rate of 65.3%—represents a pivotal transition for thousands of students moving into higher education, vocational training, or the workforce.
The Observatory urged successful students and their families to base higher education choices on rigorous labor market analyses rather than social prestige or traditional preferences. It advised avoiding oversaturated academic fields in favor of modern, practical, and digital disciplines.
Accelerating transformations in the labor market necessitate a stronger pivot toward skills aligned with the digital economy, artificial intelligence, data science, cybersecurity, software development, and financial technology (FinTech), the statement added—a stance aligned with International Labour Organization (ILO) recommendations in Jordan that advocate for continuous skills development, expanded apprenticeships, and workplace learning.
Furthermore, the Observatory emphasized diversifying options beyond traditional academic university tracks by strengthening vocational, technical, and applied education, alongside improving career counseling and releasing periodic data on saturated versus high-demand fields.
Addressing youth unemployment is not the sole responsibility of students, the Observatory concluded. It demands comprehensive economic policies capable of generating new jobs, enhancing working conditions, ensuring social protection, and tackling the barriers facing youth not in employment, education, or training (NEET)—particularly young women and youth in remote governorates who face transport and childcare hurdles.
The Observatory called on the government to continuously review dormant university majors, expand investments in technical and vocational education, accelerate digital transformation programs, and cultivate attractive working environments to foster economic participation and retain talent within Jordan.
