RIYADH: Jordan’s unemployment rate fell to 16.1 percent in the second quarter of 2026, down 0.4 percentage points from a year earlier, according to official data.
Unemployment among Jordanians declined 0.3 percentage points year on year to 21 percent, from 21.3 percent in the same quarter of 2025, state news agency Petra reported, citing the Department of Statistics.
The data showed a broader decline in unemployment among Jordanian women, whose rate fell 5.3 percentage points year on year to 19.9 percent. It also declined 2.4 percentage points from the first quarter of 2026.
Among Jordanian men, unemployment fell 4.2 percentage points from 22.7 percent in the second quarter of 2021.
“The rate has fallen by 1.7 percentage points over the past four years, from the second quarter of 2022,” Petra reported.
Unemployment among Jordanians aged 24 and above stood at 18 percent in the second quarter.
Jobs and investment
Jordan’s Economic Modernization Vision 2026-2029 executive program includes 392 projects and is expected to attract about 10 billion Jordanian dinars ($14.1 billion) in investment through private sector partnerships.
The projects cover energy, water, transport and infrastructure and include at least 5,000 new job opportunities in the governorates, as well as six new centers of excellence.
The program also includes measures to expand education and training and strengthen the National Employment Program.
In May, Jordan and the International Labour Organization launched a Decent Work Country Program for 2026-27 focused on creating more and better jobs, improving productivity and expanding employment opportunities for young people and women.
ILO data showed that employment-intensive investment programs created 3,381 jobs in 2025, while skills-placement initiatives benefited 1,785 people.
The ILO said the initiatives aim to strengthen labor market institutions, skills development and employment opportunities as Jordan implements its Economic Modernization Vision.