The 2008-09 global economic crisis and the recent political
turmoil in the Middle East have highlighted the urgent need for
many economies in the region to dramatically increase the number of
decent jobs. Conditions in the labour market in Jordan represent a stark
microcosm of this region-wide problem.
Despite high rates of growth in the early 2000s, the Jordanian economy
created relatively few new productive jobs—particularly for Jordanians.
As a result, many Jordanians have remained economically inactive or
unemployed, or have emigrated. Meanwhile, many of the low-paid,
low-skilled jobs created by the country’s economic growth have been
taken by migrant workers from the rest of the Middle East or Asia. Why
has this happened?