Jordan’s Unemployment Rate Rises to 18.6%

FILE PHOTO: A view of a street in Amman, Jordan, October 25, 2017. REUTERS/Mohammed Hamed/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A view of a street in Amman, Jordan, October 25, 2017. REUTERS/Mohammed Hamed/File Photo
TT

Jordan’s Unemployment Rate Rises to 18.6%

FILE PHOTO: A view of a street in Amman, Jordan, October 25, 2017. REUTERS/Mohammed Hamed/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A view of a street in Amman, Jordan, October 25, 2017. REUTERS/Mohammed Hamed/File Photo

The unemployment rate in Jordan for the third quarter of this year has reached 18.6 percent, with an increase of 0.1 percent compared to the same period of 2017, according to a report issued by the Jordanian Statistics Department.
 
The report released on Sunday noted that the unemployment rate among men was 16.3 percent, compared to 27.1 percent among women during the period of the study. This indicates that unemployment among men increased by 0.9 percentage points, while it decline among women by 2.8 percentage points, compared to the third quarter of 2017.

The report also said that unemployment was high among holders of bachelor’s or higher degrees in comparison with other educational levels.

The results indicated that 58.2 percent of unemployed people hold a secondary education certificate or a higher degree.

Among males, who hold an undergraduate degree or higher, the rate of unemployment reached 28.1 percent, while among females it stood at 80.1 percent.

The age group which recorded the highest rate of unemployment was 15-19 years, with a rate of 46.9 percent, followed by 20-24 years, for which the rate stood at 37.7 percent, according to the Jordanian Statistics Department.
 
At the geographic level, Madaba topped Jordan’s governorates in unemployment with a rate of 24.9 percent, while Karak recorded the lowest rate of 13.3 percent.



IMF Approves Third Review of Sri Lanka's $2.9 Bln Bailout

Peter Breuer, Senior Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF along with Katsiaryna Svirydzenka, Deputy Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF and Martha Tesfaye Woldemichael, Deputy Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF, attend a press conference organized by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Colombo, Sri Lanka, November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Thilina Kaluthotage
Peter Breuer, Senior Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF along with Katsiaryna Svirydzenka, Deputy Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF and Martha Tesfaye Woldemichael, Deputy Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF, attend a press conference organized by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Colombo, Sri Lanka, November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Thilina Kaluthotage
TT

IMF Approves Third Review of Sri Lanka's $2.9 Bln Bailout

Peter Breuer, Senior Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF along with Katsiaryna Svirydzenka, Deputy Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF and Martha Tesfaye Woldemichael, Deputy Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF, attend a press conference organized by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Colombo, Sri Lanka, November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Thilina Kaluthotage
Peter Breuer, Senior Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF along with Katsiaryna Svirydzenka, Deputy Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF and Martha Tesfaye Woldemichael, Deputy Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF, attend a press conference organized by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Colombo, Sri Lanka, November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Thilina Kaluthotage

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved the third review of Sri Lanka's $2.9 billion bailout on Saturday but warned that the economy remains vulnerable.
In a statement, the global lender said it would release about $333 million, bringing total funding to around $1.3 billion, to the crisis-hit South Asian nation. It said signs of an economic recovery were emerging, Reuters reported.
In a note of caution, it said "the critical next steps are to complete the commercial debt restructuring, finalize bilateral agreements with official creditors along the lines of the accord with the Official Creditor Committee and implement the terms of the other agreements. This will help restore Sri Lanka's debt sustainability."
Cash-strapped Sri Lanka plunged into its worst financial crisis in more than seven decades in 2022 with a severe dollar shortage sending inflation soaring to 70%, its currency to record lows and its economy contracting by 7.3% during the worst of the fallout and by 2.3% last year.
"Maintaining macroeconomic stability and restoring debt sustainability are key to securing Sri Lanka's prosperity and require persevering with responsible fiscal policy," the IMF said.
The IMF bailout secured in March last year helped stabilize economic conditions. The rupee has risen 11.3% in recent months and inflation disappeared, with prices falling 0.8% last month.
The island nation's economy is expected to grow 4.4% this year, the first increase in three years, according to the World Bank.
However, Sri Lanka still needs to complete a $12.5 billion debt restructuring with bondholders, which President Anura Kumara Dissanayake aims to finalize in December.
Sri Lanka will enter into individual agreements with bilateral creditors including Japan, China and India needed to complete a $10 billion debt restructuring, Dissanayake said.
He won the presidency in September, and his leftist coalition won a record 159 seats in the 225-member parliament in a general election last week.