Unemployment in Jordan hit 19 percent during the first quarter of 2019, an increase of 0.6% from the rate recorded during the same period in 2018, according to a recently released report from Jordan’s Department of Statistics. The report indicated that male unemployment had reached 16.4%, whereas for females it was 28.9%. Notably, 54.7% of unemployed people in Jordan hold a secondary education certificate or a higher qualification. For males and females with at least an undergraduate degree, the unemployment rate is now 25.6% for the former, and 78% for the latter. The official figures also note that half of the kingdom’s workforce did not complete high school. King Abdullah II has been under intense scrutiny, with Jordanians holding sit-ins in front of the royal palace in Amman, protesting joblessness and poor economic conditions. Following the resignation of prime minister Hani Mulki last year, Abdullah named Omar Razzaz, a former World Bank economist and education minister in Mulki’s government as his successor, although not much has changed.
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