Jordan unemployment rate hits 14%

Jordan's unemployment rate rose to 14% in the third quarter of 2013, slightly down from 13.1 % recorded during the same period in 2012, according to a Department of Statistics (DoS) report. According to the report, the unemployment rate among men was 11.3 % while it was 26.8 % for women. Further, the unemployment rate was higher at 20.6 % in case of those holding university degrees. Also, it reported that 0.5 % of the unemployed were illiterate, 36.6 had not completed their high school education while 62.7 % had completed their high school education. The report added that the highest unemployment rate was among those in the age groups of 15-19 and 20-24 years, standing at 37.9 and 34.9 %, respectively. The highest unemployment rate of 20.3 % was recorded in the Maan governorate, while the lowest was in the Zarqa governorate at 9.8 %.