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Job creation in Jordan

Jan 28,2017 - Last updated at Jan 28,2017

According to the Department of Statistics, the unemployment rate in Jordan was close to 15.8 per cent by the third quarter of 2016, 13.8 per cent among men and 25.2 per cent among women, in the same quarter.

This reflects a 2 per cent increase since the third quarter of 2015.

With Jordan’s population increasing by about a third in the past three years, the unemployment rate is continuing to rise.

Lack of job opportunities is a continuous struggle the country faces.

Lack of proper placement of talent and education in the workforce is key.

Due to excess of university graduates compared to jobs available, many university graduates are settling for jobs that do not require degrees, and many are working outside their educational fields.

Therefore, the workforce is not fully utilising its talents in the appropriate fields.

Jordan continues to lose its talent to neighbouring countries and farther abroad. Some of its best and brightest leave to obtain an education and fail to return.

In order to accommodate the available talent, jobs need to be created.

A crucial step towards serious job creation in the country is to increase foreign investment.

International companies tend to base their hubs in Middle Eastern countries in the Emirates, Lebanon and Egypt. They should be enticed to choose Jordan as their hub by giving them tax reductions competing with those provided in neighbouring countries.

Multinational companies will create massive job opportunities and make wages competitive.

When massive job creation occurs, employees will have a better chance to take up jobs that fit their skills.

The current percentage of university degree holders working in jobs that do not require degrees will get proper job placements, leaving vacant those jobs to job seekers who hold no university degrees.

Many countries use small- and medium-size businesses to prosper and create economic growth. That is certainly something the country needs to look at once a large shift in the current workforce occurs.

The interest rate in Jordan stands at a stagnant 3.75 per cent; it needs to be renegotiated to encourage small- and medium-size business creation.

With globalisation and the presence of the Internet, barriers to creating businesses are very low. Jordan needs to capitalise on that.

Internationally renowned universities, such as Michigan State University and Sorbonne University, are opening branches in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. International universities could choose Jordan, which could be a great Middle-Eastern centre of attraction for some famous universities.

Jordan’s cultural significance is immensurable and can provide university staff and students with a cultural experience that complements studies. 

This will also provide an opportunity for Jordanians to obtain an international degree in their country, in the process creating jobs and enabling Jordanians to gain the experience of working with international staff.

Government entities can also create jobs by contracting private companies to perform government jobs, such as towing services and IT consulting.

Jordanians need to change their taboo mentality of utilising trades as a career.

Those that do not choose to pursue a university degree can be effective members of society through trade schools and vocational training.

Learning and on-the-job training through internships is a trade just as valuable as a college education.

By properly utilising chefs, carpenters, electricians, welders and other careers, Germany has one of the lowest youth unemployment rates in the world at 4.2 per cent.

According to a Phenix Centre study “disabled persons not only make up 10 per cent of the world’s population, but 20 per cent of the world’s poor as well”. 

As per the amended Article 13 of the 2010 Jordanian Labour Code, establishments employing 50 workers or more are required to comply with Article 4, paragraph C, of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act No. 31, which specifies the percentage of disabled persons to be employed and to provide the Ministry of Labour with regular reports regarding the type of work performed and the wages earned by persons with disabilities. 

Even though such law exists, its implementation in the region continues to be a struggle.

Companies that hire a certain percentage of disabled workers should enjoy tax reductions.

The development of cooperatives must be encouraged and promoted in the region through government-funded workshops, teaching people how to successfully start and financially manage a cooperative.

Cooperatives offer flexibility, and with monitoring by the Ministry of Labour, a legal framework could be provided for universally accepted working conditions of cooperatives.

Cooperatives are simpler to start and have low barriers to entry. They are businesses that can be started without the need of a degree.

Cooperatives can be created in the fields of agriculture, garments and other jobs such as welding or plumbing, and can be a huge source of jobs, especially in rural areas.

The more people we have in the workforce, the more people pay taxes and the more money circulates in the economy.

This creates an increase in aggregate demand which in return causes an increase in aggregate supply, which positively affects a country’s economy and GDP.

But most importantly, when citizens feel that they are a contributing factor in a society, their livelihood is positively affected and a happier society is created in return.

 

 

The writer, a graduate of the university of Texas at Arlington, works in public service. She contributed this article to The Jordan Times.

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