Good, but could do better

Jordan seems to be doing the right thing since the International Monetary Fund predicts that the gross domestic product will reach 3.8 per cent this year and 4.5 per cent next year.

In its recent world economic outlook report, issued on the sidelines of its meeting with the World Bank in Washington, IMF gave Jordan high marks for its economic recovery and for having attained a relatively high GDP at a time many nations are struggling to reach even half that rate.

As expected, IMF attributed this surprising growth rate in the Kingdom to the lower prices of oil in the international market, which is fortuitous, but also to the series of steady and determined economic reforms carried out by the government in cooperation with the private sector.

On the down side, however, even when they attain high economic growth rates, countries are still not entirely spared problems.

Like many other nations, among Jordanians there are poor unemployed citizens. The rates of these two brackets of population are high in the Kingdom, an issue whose repercussions cannot be ignored.

Poverty and unemployment are recipes for troubles. Young educated people with nothing to do either leave the country in search of work, depriving it of precious contributions, or could fall prey to unscrupulous followers of doubtful ideologies who draw them with promises of better life or afterlife.

His Majesty King Abdullah has repeatedly mentioned these two basic problems, most recently when he engaged parliamentary blocs in a series of dialogues over the past few months.

Officials have to redouble their efforts to fight poverty and unemployment, and not be lulled by the positive GDP figures predicted to continue until 2020.

The International Labour Organisation has long called on nations to seek economic development and progress through labour-intensive industries that expand opportunities for work.

Jordan should heed this call in its fight to combat the prevailing high unemployment rates.