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High Youth Unemployment Is a Major Economic and Social Concern in Jordan

• Economic growth has created jobs, but not the jobs that youth aspire to.
• Youth have a strong preference for limited public sector jobs, which provide security and benefits.
• However, youth do not hold unrealistically high expectations of finding government jobs. Overall, they display pessimism about obtaining good employment of any sort.
• Young men are consequently uncertain about their ability to marry and support a family.

Youth's Education Is Not Aligned with Skill Requirements of the Private Sector Labor Market

• Many youth recognize the lack of suitability of their educational preparation for the requirements of the job market.
• Youth do not feel free to pursue careers valued by the market, but instead feel pressure to conform to parental or societal expectations.
• Obtaining higher levels of education was widely desired, but youth face barriers to achieving this goal, including the overwhelming importance of the secondary school exit exam and the financial costs of higher education.

Most Young Women Interviewed Have Career Aspirations

• Although overall female labor-force participation is very low in Jordan, female youth expressed the desire to work, and many would delay marriage to pursue careers.
• Female youth are constrained in their choices by external factors such as family and societal pressures and expectations, not by internalized preferences for traditional jobs or family roles.
• Career choices for women entering the workforce are limited beyond the government sector and within the government, restricted to certain areas such as teaching.

Despite strong economic growth during the last decade, youth unemployment in Jordan remains stubbornly high, and labor-force participation markedly low. Young women in particular face labor market barriers in access to many career paths, and their job aspirations are often discouraged by their parents. Graduates of secondary and postsecondary institutions do not possess the requisite technical and soft skills needed for the jobs they expect to get. Facing poor economic prospects and inadequate income, youth are unable to marry, afford to live independently, or support a family. The youth unemployment crisis appears set to plague the country as well as the Middle East region for years to come in the absence of offsetting policy. This study examines the perceptions of young Jordanian men and women on issues relevant to their transitions into adult roles, specifically aspirations for work and family. To achieve the study objectives, we conducted 13 focus groups and 14 one-on-one qualitative interviews with young Jordanians (ages 15–30). Participants came from the nation's capital, Amman, as well as the less urbanized nearby area of Zarqa. We place these subjective perceptions into perspective through a literature review and secondary analysis of national statistics, as well as interviews with experts.

• Chapter One

  Introduction

• Chapter Two

  Economic Conditions and Employment

• Chapter Three

  Education Opportunities, Skills Mismatch, and Barriers to Completion

• Chapter Four

  Aspirations and Frustrations of Youth

• Chapter Five

  Conclusions