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Labor Watch said that Jordanian youth continue to face accumulated economic, educational, and employment challenges, foremost among them high unemployment rates, a mismatch between education outcomes and labour market needs, and limited access to decent work and social protection.

In a statement issued on the occasion of International Youth Day, observed today, Wednesday, Labor Watch said the latest official data show that youth unemployment remains at high levels. The unemployment rate among Jordanians aged 15–24 reached 45% during the first quarter of 2026, meaning that nearly half of Jordan’s youth are unemployed.

Labor Watch noted that the increase in newly created jobs in recent years has not translated sufficiently into lower youth unemployment. More than 48,000 net jobs were created in Jordan during the first half of 2025, representing a notable increase compared with several previous years. However, youth unemployment rates have remained high.

Labor Watch said that the persistence of high unemployment despite the increase in newly created jobs raises questions about the nature, stability, and sustainability of these opportunities, as well as their alignment with young people’s skills, qualifications, and needs. This requires focusing not only on increasing the number of jobs, but also on providing decent, productive, stable employment opportunities capable of absorbing young people’s skills, while developing the education system to better align with labour market requirements.

In this context, Labor Watch said the recent announcement of the results of the 2026 General Secondary Education Certificate Examination (Tawjihi), which recorded an overall pass rate of 65.3%, represents an important juncture for thousands of young people as they move into a new phase of education, training, or employment.

Labor Watch called on successful students and their families to base decisions regarding university majors and fields of study on a genuine assessment of labour market needs, rather than solely on social preferences or traditional considerations. It also urged students to avoid enrolling in fields that are already experiencing high levels of saturation in the labour market, while giving greater consideration to emerging, applied, and digital disciplines.

Labor Watch stressed that rapid transformations in the labour market require greater focus on fields and skills linked to the digital economy, artificial intelligence, data science, cybersecurity, software development, financial technology (fintech), and other areas whose applications are expanding across various sectors.

This need is consistent with the priorities of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Jordan, which emphasizes the importance of continuously developing skills and aligning them with labour market needs, alongside expanding opportunities for practical training and workplace-based learning.

Labor Watch also stressed the importance of not limiting young people’s options to academic university education, calling for greater investment in vocational, technical, and applied education as pathways capable of providing skills demanded by the labour market. It also called for strengthening career guidance for students and providing regular, reliable information on fields of study that are in demand and those experiencing saturation.

Labor Watch emphasized that addressing youth unemployment is not the sole responsibility of young people. It requires economic policies capable of creating new employment opportunities, developing education and training systems, improving working conditions, ensuring social protection, and aligning employment policies with actual labour market demand.

Labor Watch further stressed that addressing the phenomenon of young people being not in employment, education, or training (NEET) requires targeted interventions for groups most vulnerable to exclusion, particularly young women and youth in governorates recording high unemployment rates. This should include addressing transportation barriers, childcare responsibilities, and other factors that constrain economic participation—issues highlighted by the ILO as priorities for youth employment policies in Jordan.

Labor Watch called on the government to continue reviewing university majors that are stagnant or oversupplied, expand investment in vocational and technical education and training, and strengthen digital transformation and future-skills programmes. It also urged the government to provide a decent and attractive working environment for young people, helping reduce unemployment and opening broader opportunities for their economic participation and for building their futures in Jordan.