A report issued by the Jordan Strategies Forum showed that the Jordanian economy was facing many challenges before the emergence of the Corona pandemic, but this epidemic exacerbated the crisis in Jordan, represented by modest levels of economic growth and high unemployment rates (especially among the youth), in addition to continuous deficit in public budget growth, and increased levels of public debt.
According to the report, the budget deficit for the year 2020 (excluding foreign grants) increased from 1.044 billion Jordanian dinars (January - August 2019) to 1.658 billion Jordanian dinars (January - August 2020), with the possibility of expanding this deficit by the end of 2020. The report also showed some decrease in the capital expenditures as a percentage of total public spending during recent years from 8.1% (January - August 2019) to 5.9% (January - August 2020), which is considered a negative indicator, given the need for the Jordanian economy to develop projects that contribute to strengthening the resilience of the economy.
According to the report, the GDP growth rates during the last five years have not effectively contributed to reducing unemployment rates. On the contrary, the unemployment rates are increasing. The report also indicated that the Corona pandemic and its repercussions will lead to a decline in the rate of growth in gross domestic product, which means an increase in unemployment rates by the end of 2020 to unprecedented levels, as unemployment rates have actually increased from (19%) in the first quarter to (23.9%) in the third quarter of 2020, and this percentage is likely to increase in the last quarter of 2020.
Source (Ad-Dustour Newspaper-Jordan, Edited)
