Ammon News - Remittances of Jordanian workers in Qatar surged to $400 million in 2021, up by $100 million or 25 percent from the $300 million recorded in 2020, according to estimates by Qatari exchange companies.

Hamad Al Mathoury, a Qatari exchanger, said that the pandemic had a toll on remittances from the Arab Gulf region in 2020 but outbound transfers began to return to pre-pandemic levels in 2021.

Expats' remittance in Qatar were down by 10.2 percent in 2020, at $10.8 billion from $11.9 billion in 2019, according to data by the Qatar Central Bank.

Ahmed Alshamary, a Qatari exchanger, said the reopening of markets and economic sectors has contributed to the reinstatement of many workers laid off as a result of the pandemic, noting that hundreds of Jordanians were employed in Qatar in the past year.

About 65,000 Jordanians work in Qatar, mainly in education and healthcare. Also, a sizeable number of Jordanians work for public sector employers in the Arab Gulf nation.

According to recent data announced by the Central Bank of Jordan, remittances by all Jordanian expatriates in the first 10 months of 2021 inched up by 0.6 percent, hitting JD2 billion.

(Petra)