Ammon News - Jordan's unemployment rate saw a slight decline in the second quarter of 2024, dropping by 0.9 percentage points compared to the same period last year. The rate remained stable at 21.4 percent when compared to the first quarter of this year, according to a report released by the Department of Statistics on Sunday.

The report highlighted gender disparities in the unemployment figures. Among males, the unemployment rate fell to 18.9 percent during the second quarter, marking a decrease of 1.1 percentage points compared to the previous year. However, the unemployment rate among females rose slightly to 31 percent, an increase of 0.1 percentage points year-on-year.

A closer look at quarterly changes reveals that male unemployment increased by 1.5 percentage points compared to the first quarter of 2024, while female unemployment decreased by 3.7 percentage points.

Education played a significant role in the unemployment figures, with the rate among university graduates reaching 25 percent, a higher percentage compared to other educational levels. The report also noted a marked gender gap in educational attainment within the labor force. A striking 74.4 percent of the female labor force held a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to 36.9 percent of males.

Regional variations in unemployment were also evident, with Balqa Governorate recording the highest rate at 24.5 percent, while Aqaba Governorate had the lowest at 17.6 percent, a difference of 6.9 percentage points.

The report further indicated that the overall economic participation rate increased to 33.9 percent in the second quarter of 2024, up by 0.9 percentage points from the same quarter last year. This increase was reflected in both genders, with male participation rising to 53.6 percent and female participation edging up to 13.9 percent, although it remained below the 20 percent average for Arab countries.

In terms of workforce composition, the percentage of employed individuals out of the total population aged 15 and over was 26.7 percent, with a higher concentration of employed males (59.5 percent) and females (57.6 percent) within the 20-39 age group. The report also highlighted a disparity in educational levels within the labor force, noting that 56.2 percent of the male labor force had education levels below secondary school, compared to just 9.7 percent for females.

Moreover, the report underscored the continued gender disparity in employment across sectors, revealing that women made up 22 percent of the workforce in the government sector. Petra