AMMAN — The overall unemployment rate in Jordan (Jordanians and non-Jordanians) dropped to 16.1 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2025, marking a decrease of 0.1 percentage points compared with the previous quarter, the Department of Statistics (DoS) said on Wednesday.

 

In a statement to mark International Labour Day, observed annually on May 1, the DoS noted that the unemployment rate among males stood at 13.8 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2025, representing a 0.2 percentage point decrease from the 13.6 per cent recorded in the third quarter of 2025.

 

The female unemployment rate saw a more significant decline of two percentage points during the same period, reaching 25.0 per cent in the final quarter of 2025, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

 

Regarding social security coverage, the department highlighted a “substantial” increase in the number of insured workers over the past two decades, where the figure rose from 366,000 in 2000 to 1,599,914 by 2024.

 

DoS also reviewed the evolution of monthly wages in the Kingdom. The average monthly wage, which stood at JD60 in the mid-1970s and JD211 in the mid-1990s, reached JD551 in 2023 across both the public and private sectors.

 

In 2023, the average wage for males was JD563, compared with JD522 for females.

 

In the public sector, the average monthly wage in 2023 reached JD667 (JD691for males and JD632 for females), while the average private sector wage was JD499, with males earning an average of JD517.

 

DoS underscored Jordan’s pioneering role in regional labour organisation, noting that the General Federation of Jordanian Trade Unions was established in 1954.

 

As a founding member of the International Confederation of Arab Trade Unions, the Jordanian labour movement has achieved "significant progress" over the last half-century, driven by national cooperation and a commitment to sustainable development.