Navigating Change in Jordan: Policy Insights on Employment, Inclusion, And Resilience from The Jordan Labor Market Panel Survey 2025

FromJun 29, 2026 To Jun 30, 2026

Online Webinar

Background

Jordan’s labor market has experienced profound economic and social changes over the past fifteen years amid demographic shifts, regional instability, the Syrian refugee crisis, and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Understanding how these changes have influenced employment opportunities, household wellbeing, gender relations, and social protection is essential for designing effective and inclusive policies. High-quality longitudinal data play a critical role in capturing these changes and informing evidence-based decision-making.

The Jordan Labor Market Panel Survey (JLMPS) has become a cornerstone of labor market and human development research in Jordan. As part of the Economic Research Forum’s (ERF) Labor Market Panel Surveys (LMPSs), the JLMPS provides rich longitudinal data that enable researchers and policymakers to better understand labor market dynamics, demographic transitions, household formation, migration, entrepreneurship, social protection, and gender relations over time.

Implemented by the ERF in partnership with the Jordanian Department of Statistics (DoS), the JLMPS has collected nationally representative panel data since 2010, with subsequent waves conducted in 2016 and 2025. The 2025 wave follows households interviewed in previous rounds while incorporating a refresher sample that oversamples non-Jordanian populations, ensuring robust representation of Syrian refugees and migrant workers.

The JLMPS 2025 was implemented with the support and collaboration of the International Labour Organization (ILO), the World Bank, UNICEF, UN Women, and the International Growth Centre (IGC). The dataset was made publicly available in April 2026 and represents one of the most comprehensive sources of evidence on labor market and social change in Jordan.

Drawing on the latest wave of the JLMPS, the ERF research team has undertaken comprehensive analyses, producing descriptive papers on labor supply and employment, youth transitions, earnings and inequality, social protection, entrepreneurship, gender norms and women’s empowerment, unpaid care work and time use, refugee livelihoods, household resilience to shocks, and emerging sectors such as information and communications technology (ICT) and green jobs. These studies will contribute to a new volume in the Labor Market Panel Survey series and provide an important evidence base for policy dialogue in Jordan.

Findings from JLMPS 2025 reveal both persistent challenges and emerging opportunities. While labor market participation and employment remain below earlier levels, the pace of deterioration has slowed considerably compared to previous years. Educational attainment continues to improve, particularly among women, yet important gaps remain in translating educational gains into employment opportunities. At the same time, employment growth has increasingly shifted toward higher-value sectors, particularly ICT and other knowledge-intensive activities, while formal employment and social protection coverage have expanded. The findings also highlight the continued challenges facing women’s economic participation, particularly among married mothers, as well as the importance of strengthening household resilience and expanding opportunities for vulnerable populations, including refugees.

Objective

Following the official launch of the JLMPS 2025 in June 2026 and the completion of the first set of analytical studies based on the survey, the ERF is organizing a two-day dissemination webinar series entitled: Navigating Change in Jordan: Policy Insights on Employment, Inclusion, and Resilience from the Jordan Labor Market Panel Survey 2025.
The webinar series aims to disseminate key findings from the JLMPS 2025 research papers and foster dialogue on their implications for labor market, social, and development policies in Jordan. Bringing together policymakers, researchers, development partners, and practitioners, the webinars will provide a platform to discuss how new evidence from the survey can inform policy responses to Jordan’s evolving labor market and social challenges.

The first day, Labor Market Dynamics, Youth Transitions, Entrepreneurship, and Emerging Sectors, focuses on labor market trends, youth transitions into employment, entrepreneurship, and opportunities in emerging sectors of the economy. The second day, Gender, Household Resilience, Social Protection, and Refugee Wellbeing, examines gender dynamics, women’s economic participation, household vulnerability, social protection, resilience to shocks, and the wellbeing of refugees and vulnerable populations.

The Economic Research Forum acknowledges the financial support of the European Union; the International Labour Organization (ILO) through the EU-Madad funded project ‘Towards an inclusive national social protection system and accelerating decent job opportunities for Syrians and vulnerable Jordanians’; the World Bank; UNICEF; UN Women; and the International Growth Centre (IGC) for the Jordan Labor Market Panel Survey 2025.

We also acknowledge the financial support of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) for the organization of this dissemination webinar series.

June 29
June 30

Agenda

Day 1: Labor Market Dynamics, Youth Transitions, Entrepreneurship and Emerging Sectors

Date

29/06/2026

Location

Online Webinar

Time

From 4:00 pm To 6:30 pm

Speakers

Research Fellows

Raed Safadi

Managing Director, Economic Research Forum

Speakers

Haidar Fraihat

Director General of the Department of Statistics,...

Speakers

Amal Mowafy

Jordan Country Coordinator, ILO

Authors

Caroline Krafft

Associate Professor, Humphrey School of Public Affairs,...

Research Fellows

Ragui Assaad

Professor and Freeman Chair for International Economic...

Authors

Nouf Abushehab

PhD Student at the Department of Economics,...

Speakers

Nayef Zakaria Stetieh

Former Minister of Labor, Jordan

Authors

Marian Atallah

Assistant Professor, Faculty of Economics and Political...

Speakers

Halah Alattas

Assistant Professor of Economics, Faculty of Economics...

Speakers

Rama Dabbas

Partnerships & Business Development Manager, Education For...

Authors

Atiyeh Vahidmanesh

Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Tehran

Speakers

Nedjma Koval

Founder and CEO, Integrated International

Speakers

Nour Al Moghrabi

Gender Specialist, World Bank

Speakers

Jack Duncan

Country Economist, International Growth Centre, Jordan

Research Associates

Wifag Adnan

Assistant Professor of Economics, New York University...

Speakers

Amira Qarqash

Agenda

Day 2: Gender, Household Resilience, Social Protection and Refugee Wellbeing

Date

30/06/2026

Location

Online Webinar

Time

From 4:00 pm To 6:30 pm

The second day, Gender, Household Resilience, Social Protection, and Refugee Wellbeing, examines gender dynamics, women’s economic participation, household vulnerability, social protection, resilience to shocks, and the wellbeing of refugees and vulnerable populations.