The Department of Statistics released its semi-annual report on net job creation in Jordan for the first half of 2025. The report shows that 48,403 net jobs were created during this period. This number represents the difference between new jobs created and jobs that were lost. It helps us understand general labor market trends, but it does not tell us whether these jobs are good, stable, or sustainable.

 

The data show that men received most of these jobs, accounting for 85.2 percent, while women received only 14.8 percent. Among workers with a bachelor’s degree or higher, women accounted for 33.5 percent of the jobs. By age group, young people between 20 and 29 years old took 86.2 percent of the new jobs, while workers over the age of 40 lost 8.6 percent of jobs.

 

Looking at economic sectors, most jobs were created in wholesale and retail trade and vehicle repair, with 12,723 jobs. This was followed by public administration, defense, and social security, which created 7,000 jobs. In terms of occupations, the largest number of jobs went to sales and service workers, with 21,134 positions, followed by professionals such as teachers, doctors, engineers, and lawyers with 8,240 jobs. Jobs held by non-Jordanians totaled 3,085, most of them taken by Syrian workers.

 

From a technical point of view, the Employment and Unemployment Survey measures only the net change in employment over a specific period. It does not measure wages, job security, working conditions, or whether jobs meet decent work standards. These issues are very important, but they require separate studies and indicators to fully understand them.

 

At the broader economic level, employment depends mainly on the level of total demand in the economy. The main problem in Jordan’s labor market is not a lack of workers, but a lack of demand for labor. For many years, economic growth in Jordan has been too low to absorb population growth, new entrants to the labor market, and the accumulated unemployment from previous years. As a result, job creation remains limited by the overall growth of the economy.

 

This is why many of the new jobs are concentrated in low value-added sectors such as trade, services, and construction. These sectors naturally create low-productivity and often unstable jobs. Fixing this problem requires higher economic growth and a more diversified economy. Employment policies alone cannot solve this issue.

 

The fact that unemployment rates have not fallen significantly despite job creation can be explained by the large number of young people entering the labor market every year, as well as the need to replace jobs that are lost. Current job creation may prevent unemployment from getting worse, but it is not enough to reduce it in a meaningful way. This again reflects weak overall demand in the economy.

 

Youth employment is also shaped by market behavior. Employers tend to hire younger workers because they are cheaper and more flexible. However, many of these jobs do not offer clear career paths or long-term stability. This problem is linked to weak growth and low investment in productivity, not just to the number of jobs created.

 

Women’s low share of new jobs points to a deeper economic issue. Women’s participation in the labor market depends on whether the expected income is worth the cost of working. Low wages, limited growth, and a shortage of productive jobs all reduce women’s participation. Without stronger economic growth, policies aimed at increasing women’s employment will have limited impact.

 

Geographically, most new jobs are concentrated in the capital, where economic activity and investment are already focused. This is the result of long-term development patterns. Reducing regional gaps requires more investment and economic activity in other governorates, not just redistributing jobs on paper.

 

In conclusion, while the job numbers for the first half of 2025 show some progress, they also reveal deep structural problems in Jordan’s labor market. The core issue is weak aggregate demand caused by low and undiversified economic growth. Real change will only happen if Jordan achieves higher and more sustainable growth, expands its productive base, and encourages productive investment. Without this, job creation efforts will remain limited and unable to deliver lasting improvements in employment and living standards.