Female unemployment rates improved slightly in Q3 of 2021 — SIGI  

AMMAN — The Department of Statistics' (DoS) report on unemployment for the third quarter of 2021 shows that the unemployment rate decreased by 1.6 per cent compared with the second quarter of 2021, Sisterhood is Global Institute (SIGI), a local women’s NGO, said on Sunday. 

The report shows that unemployment among males dropped by 1.5 per cent and by 2.3 per cent among females. The female workforce also increased by 0.6 per cent, according to a SIGI statement. 

The SIGI report shows that the unemployment rate among females in the July-September period of 2021 dropped to 30.8 per cent (21.1 per cent for males and 23.2 per cent for both genders) compared with the second quarter that recorded 33.1 per cent for unemployment among females (22.7 per cent for males and 24.8 per cent for both genders).

The workforce among Jordanian women in the third quarter of 2021 stood at 14.5 per cent compared with the second quarter of 2021 that recorded 13.9 per cent.

Jordan's estimated population by the end of 2020 reached 10.806 million, including 5.084 million females and 5.722 million males, where females who are 15 years old and above totalled 3.276 million, according to SIGI.

Consequently, the female workforce increased by 19,656 women to 475,020, compared to 455,364 women in the second quarter of 2021. Nearly 146,306 women in the workforce suffered from joblessness during the third quarter of 2021, SIGI added. 

With the aim of overcoming the current economic crisis facing households and particularly women, SIGI studied the possibility of changing society’s beliefs and behaviours towards working women. 

In this regard, SIGI cited a World Bank infographic that shows 60 per cent of unemployed women in Jordan aspire to work, but only 12 per cent are looking for jobs. 

The infographic also shows that three out of four women think women work because their families suffer from financial hardships, according to SIGI.