The Jordanian Labor Market Between Fragility and Resilience

Jordan stands in the middle of a turbulent region, experiencing substantial refugee flows and economic challenges due to the conflict and insecurity of its neighbors. The Jordanian Labor Market: Between Fragility and Resilience fills an enormous gap in our knowledge regarding the region's labor market during a period of substantial instability and new challenges for Jordan.

Prior to the refugee crisis the Jordanian economy and labor market had been shifting in a positive direction. An enormous influx of Syrian refugees, however, created unanswered questions of how the region's labor market would fare. The Jordanian Labor Market leverages the 2016 Jordan Labor Market Panel Survey to provide answers to some of these questions. It offers an unprecedented opportunity to assess the challenges that Jordan faces. It addresses key economic and policy questions through unparalleled nationally representative date.

The Jordanian Labor Market presents critical new insights into the status of migrants and refugees in Jordan. It examines key indicators of the labor market including labor supply, job creation, wages and inequality, and self-employment. It also looks at transitions across the life course in Jordan such as education, school-to-work transition, marriage and fertility, housing and new households, and social insurance and retirement. These factors provide important insight into important challenges Jordan's economy and society faces.

Caroline Krafft, Assistant Professor, St Catherine University, USA,Ragui Assaad, Professor, Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota, USA

Caroline Krafft is an Assistant Professor of Economics at St. Catherine University. Her research examines issues in development economics, primarily labor, education, health, and inequality in the Middle East and North Africa. Current projects include work on refugees, labor market dynamics, life course transitions, human capital accumulation, and fertility.


Ragui Assaad is a Professor at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota. He has been a Research Fellow of the Economic Research Forum since 1994 and serves as its thematic leader for Labor and Human Development, and as a member of its Board of Trustees. He holds a Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning from Cornell University. His current research focuses on labor markets in the Arab World, with a focus on youth and gender issues, as they relate to education, transition from school-to-work, employment and unemployment, informality, migration and forced migration, and family formation.

1. The Composition of Labor Supply and its Evolution from 2010 to 2016 in Jordan, Ragui Assaad, Caroline Krafft, and Caitlyn Keo
2. The Structure of Employment and Job Creation in Jordan: 2010-2016, Ragui Assaad and Colette Salemi
3. The Evolution of Wage Formation and Inequality in Jordan in 2010-2016, Rami Galal
4. Own Account Workers in Jordan: Profile and Work Characteristics, Reham Rizk and Colette Salemi
5. Migration Dynamics During the Refugee Influx in Jordan, Bilal Malaeb and Jackline Wahba
6. Syrian Refugees in Jordan: Demographics, Livelihoods, Education, and Health, Caroline Krafft, Maia Sieverding, Colette Salemi, and Caitlyn Keo
7. The Number and Characteristics of Syrians in Jordan: A Multi-Source Analysis, Caroline Krafft, Susan Razzaz, Caitlyn Keo and Ragui Assaad
8. Education of Jordanians: Outcomes in a Challenging Environment, Mahmoud Ali Hailat
9. School-to-Work Transition in Jordan, 2010-2016, Mona Amer
10. Marriage and Fertility Patterns among Jordanians and Syrian Refugees in Jordan, Maia Sieverding, Nasma Berri, and Sawsan Abdulrahim
11. Housing and Living Conditions in Jordan - 2010-2016, Ahmed Elsayed
12. The Challenges of Social Security Coverage and Early Retirement in Jordan: What happened after the 2010 Pension Reform?, Ibrahim Alhawarin and Irene Selwaness