Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Jordan (Ratification: 1966)

Implementation of an active employment policy. Participation of the social partners. The Committee notes the Government’s report received in August 2013 which includes detailed labour market statistical data. The Government recalls that the National Employment Strategy (NES) 2011–20 aims to decrease unemployment and enhance employability, based on the overall vision laid out by the National Agenda. The NES analyses both labour supply and demand and the institutional context in which they operate and sets actions to produce the intended results. The Government indicates that the unemployment rate slightly decreased from 12.5 per cent in 2011 to 12.2 per cent in 2012. The Committee notes however that the economic participation rate of 38 per cent in 2012 is still low compared to the working-age population rate, which reached 62.7 per cent in 2012. This is believed to be mainly due to demographic changes, a mismatch between educational outputs and labour market needs, migrant workers’ competition with respect to Jordanian workers in some occupations, and the lack of information on available jobs. The Committee invites the Government to provide in its next report information on the results of the implementation of the NES in terms of employment creation and unemployment reduction (Article 1 of the Convention). The Committee also wishes to examine information on the manner in which employment data is used for deciding on and reviewing employment measures, in cooperation with the social partners and representatives of the stakeholders in the rural sector and the informal economy (Articles 2 and 3). Please also include relevant statistical data, disaggregated as much as possible, on the situation and trends of employment, unemployment and underemployment in both the formal and the informal economy. Referring to its previous observation, the Committee also invites the Government to provide information on the implementation and results in relation to the employment priorities of the Decent Work Country Programme 2012–15.

Coordination of education and training policy with employment policy. The Government indicates in its report on the application of the Human Resources Development Convention, 1975 (No. 142), that the Ministry of Labour and the Employment, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (E-TVET) Council, together with the National Centre for the Development of Human Resources, are working towards the development of a labour market management information system. The Committee also notes, based on data from the World Bank, that an active labour market initiative called “Jordan Job Compact” was designed to assist unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled youth to find jobs through a combination of training, stimulus packages and financing to employers and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The Committee invites the Government to provide in its next report information on the impact of the measures adopted to enhance the education and training system, and increase the quality and labour market relevance of training courses. It invites the Government to include results of the implementation of active labour market initiatives, including the “Jordan Job Compact” and the labour market management information system, in terms of overcoming the mismatch between education supply and labour market demand.

Youth employment. The Government indicates that the unemployment rate for the 15–24 age group reached 48.8 per cent in 2012. The Committee notes the Programme for the employment of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Graduates which aims to reduce the high unemployment among ICT certificate holders. The programme consists of young graduates’ employment in the private sector for 12 months with practical training purposes. The Government reports that 316 companies have signed agreements with the programme institutions as of June 2013 and that around 2,000 graduates were expected to benefit from it by the end of 2013. The Committee notes that government representatives, civil society institutions and the General Federation of Jordanian Trade Unions participated in the drafting of the Jordanian Youth Rights at Work manual. The Committee invites the Government to supply disaggregated data on young persons obtaining lasting employment following their participation in vocational guidance and vocational training programmes. It also invites the Government to continue providing examples of initiatives intended to increase opportunities of young graduates to find lasting and productive employment, as well as information on the implementation and results of these initiatives.

Women’s employment. The Government recognizes the existence of a significant gap between the employment rate of men, which reached 54.9 per cent in 2012, and the employment rate of women of 11.3 per cent in the same year. The Committee notes that women’s unemployment rate has been declining from 25.9 per cent in 2005 to 19.9 per cent in 2012. It also notes that the Government launched programmes addressed to women’s employment in the textile sector, including the employment of women in remote areas and the establishment of additional factories in qualified industrial zones. Up to 2013, six factory branches were opened and 4,660 persons, 98 per cent of whom are women, benefited from these programmes. The Committee invites the Government to provide in its next report examples of other initiatives intended to increase women’s employment, as well as statistical data on the implementation and results of these initiatives.