Latest news with #Workers'House
Roya News
11-08-2025
- Business
- Roya News
Youth unemployment hits 46% in Jordan, double national average
On International Youth Day, the Jordanian Center for Labor Rights, also known as Workers' House, issued a stark warning about the escalating youth unemployment crisis in Jordan. The center revealed that the unemployment rate among young people aged 15 to 24 has surged to nearly 46 percent in 2024, almost double the national average. In a press statement released Monday, Workers' House urged the government to adopt a comprehensive national strategy to confront this deep-rooted challenge, which threatens the future and stability of the country's largest demographic group. - A deepening crisis - The data presented by the center highlights that Jordan's labor market annually absorbs around 130,000 new young entrants, primarily recent graduates. However, job opportunities that are both sustainable and productive remain severely limited. The problem is compounded by the fact that long-term unemployment, defined as lasting more than 12 months, accounts for nearly half of all unemployed youth. Even more concerning, most young people without jobs have never worked before, indicating significant barriers to entering the workforce for the first time. - Skills gap and precarious employment - Workers' House points to several structural causes behind the crisis, chief among them the widening skills gap between education outcomes and the needs of the labor market. The center stressed that holding a university degree is no longer enough to secure employment without practical experience and technical or digital skills. Furthermore, more than half of the young employed workforce works in the informal sector, leaving them without social protections or guarantees for decent work. This fragile employment situation is worsened by the recent decision to freeze the minimum wage at JD 290 for three years, a figure that fails to keep pace with the rising cost of living and hampers young workers' ability to achieve economic and social stability. - Path forward: A comprehensive national plan - To address this urgent issue, Workers' House called for the implementation of a broad national plan focused on several key areas: With Jordan's youth representing a critical asset for the country's future, experts and advocates emphasize that without decisive action, the ongoing unemployment crisis could undermine social stability and economic growth for years to come.
Roya News
12-06-2025
- Roya News
Nearly 100,000 children in Jordan forced into labor
Marking World Day Against Child Labor on Thursday, Hamada Abu Nijmeh, Director of the Workers' House Center, warned of a continuing rise in child labor across Jordan amid weak enforcement and the absence of effective long-term solutions. Speaking to Roya, Abu Nijmeh said the latest official figures from the Department of Statistics, issued in 2016, estimated over 75,000 working children in the country. However, he noted that current estimates by the Workers' House suggest the number is nearing 100,000. A significant portion of these children, he added, are engaged in hazardous jobs such as carpentry, metalwork, and other manual trades. - Inspections falling short - Abu Nijmeh criticized labor inspection efforts, describing them as largely ineffective. 'Only 203 violations are recorded annually,' he said, 'a figure far too low to reflect the true scale of the problem or act as a deterrent.' He explained that the Ministry of Labor is legally responsible for enforcing child labor regulations, with penalties starting at JD 500 and doubling for repeat offenses. However, he stressed that such fines are insufficient to discourage violators. He also pointed to the role of the Ministry of Social Development, which supports families forced to rely on child labor and handles cases involving child beggars, who are often part of the broader labor issue. - Poverty driving child labor - While Jordanian labor law allows children over 16 to work under non-hazardous conditions, Abu Nijmeh noted that these legal safeguards are frequently ignored, especially in the informal sector, such as street vending and seasonal jobs. He identified poverty as the primary driver of child labor, a crisis made worse by the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, which left many families without income. Jordan's three largest cities, Amman, Zarqa, and Irbid, as well as Mafraq and other areas, report the highest rates of working children, he said. According to Abu Nijmeh, agriculture employs nearly 30 percent of working children, exposing them to serious health and safety risks. Many of these children are not covered by Social Security, leaving employers solely responsible for any injuries or compensation.
