AMMAN — Exacerbated by the pandemic, unemployment in the Kingdom
has reached shocking highs, with approximately one in four Jordanians jobless.
Beyond the strict economic impact of
unemployment, experts say the phenomenon
also has a tangible impact on Jordanians’ mental health.
اضافة اعلان
According to the Department of Statistics, the unemployment rate
in Jordan currently stands at 24.7 percent. The burden seems to have hit the
younger generations the hardest, with the World Bank estimating that half of
youth were jobless by the end of 2020.
"The current unemployment is a major cause for mental health
challenges and burdens,” said Abdullah Abu Adass, licensed psychiatrist, in an
interview with
Jordan News. “One of the clearest forms is major
depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder.”
Adass stressed that this rise in unemployment could lead to many
negative impacts on Jordan’s population, such as substance abuse, domestic
abuse, community abuse, and internal conflict.
"Underestimation of self is a major cause of other
psychological conflicts, which can be manifested by a withdrawal from their
community, not being able to participate in their community or interact,” said
Adass. “Also, it causes a kind of self-isolation, which can lead to multiple
negative thoughts about their environment and can also exacerbate the feeling
of social injustice." He emphasized the drastic need to "find smart
ways to help and support young people when it comes to employment."
Adass believes that for the sake of the Kingdom, there needs to be an open dialogue around
mental health now more than ever.
Ala' Shishan, 32, has been out of work since 2018. He is just one
of many Jordanians who have faced stress and other challenges while battling
unemployment. A personal issue in his life caused him to leave his job, but in
March of 2019, after spending nearly a year unemployed, he was ready to return
to the workforce. At the time, neither Ala' nor the rest of the world could
have predicted that a global pandemic was looming.
"That was it. Even if you got a little bit of excitement in
you, this whole thing crushed the enthusiasm fully,” he said in an interview
with
Jordan News.
Hoping there would be less strain on hiring once 2021 dawned, he postponed
his job search until January of 2021, but so far, he has heard nothing but
silence from employers.
"I didn't stop looking for a job, but it wasn't my main
concern. The situation was volatile at the time. People were getting laid off
left, right and center."
Ala' studied and worked abroad before coming back to his native
Amman, which he believes is why his CV "can look intimidating." He
also thinks that employers, hoping to provide only low wages, might be
incentivized to hire fresh graduates over more seasoned recruits.
His ongoing struggle to find employment has caused him immense
stress as well as loss of faith in the system, leading him to pursue
opportunities outside of Jordan, he said.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, 23-year-old Rayan Al-Fakhoury,
23, just recently graduated with a degree in architecture from Jordan
University of Science and Technology. Paradoxically, she is unemployed because
of a "lack of long-term work experience."
"For me, and for
anyone struggling with being unemployed for a long period, it caused me many
problems on a social level, even our mental health and the way we look at
ourselves,” she
told Jordan News. “And of course, it was hard for me to doubt myself and
my abilities on all levels."
"How is this something that is supposed to build
morale?" Shishan asks. "It's not fair, the whole employment game.
There's so much prejudice."
In recent months, the government has taken measures to create
employment and support the most vulnerable Jordanians. The government has
launched "two social protection programs to support vulnerable
households," and efforts to protect businesses, according to The World
Bank.
Additionally, the Ministry of Labor sees the dilemma among newcomers
and is working to promote and stimulate job growth, Mohammad Zyoud, the
Ministry’s spokesperson, in an interview with
Jordan News.
"The Ministry of Labor, through its role in regulating the
market, is restricting many professions to only Jordanians, and signing employment
agreements with the ministry's partners in the private sector to increase the attractiveness
of the country,” Zyoud said.
The ministry also seeks to introduce modern machinery into the
construction and agriculture sectors, to further attract more young people,
Zyoud noted.
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