June 11, 2012

The rate of economic growth in Jordan declined significantly during the eighties and nineties, the unemployment rate rose, the average real income per capita fell, and the percentage of the population increased below the poverty line. This led to a decrease in the possibility of the unemployed individual obtaining a job opportunity, and the extension of his search and waiting period for work, which caused some (frustrated) who wish to work to stop seeking and research, and thus automatically exited from the labor force, to join the category of the economically inactive, which It is characterized by its relative size. The rate of economic activity (crude and refined) in Jordan is low compared to its counterpart in developing countries. The analysis touched on behavioral indicators that reflect the extent of interest of economically inactive individuals in entering the labor market. It was found that frustrated individuals think more than others about looking for work, and are likely to do so within a short period, and this includes thinking about doing a private job. They attach more importance to economic rationales, such as: Appropriate level of wages, additional benefits, and appropriate working conditions, when they accept a job opportunity. It was found that frustrated individuals are not the same in the degree of their marginal attachment to the labor force, and that a distinction is possible at least between two groups, namely: the frustrated-perceived (who have previously entered the labor market work), and the frustrated-neglected (those who have never entered the labor market). As for the rest of the economically inactive category, after excluding the frustrated segment, they were considered reluctant to enter the labor market. The analysis focused on four basic variables related to the characteristics and circumstances of the individual: age, gender, education, and spending. It turns out that it has an important impact on the behavior of the individual, through what it reflects on the cost-benefit analysis. Individuals in young groups of working age are more connected to the labor force than others, but they are more likely than others to be frustrated due to the high rate of unemployment among them. Males are more connected to the work force than females, who constitute the majority in the frustrated segment. And individuals who have passed the university education stage, both males and females, are more connected to the labor force than those without education. And individuals with low incomes (expenditures) are more inclined to fall into the frustrated segment than others in the economically inactive category. The percentage of frustrated reached about one fifth of the economically inactive category, which is a high percentage. This means that the signs of economic recovery and the growth of job opportunities may not be accompanied by a simultaneous decrease in the unemployment rate º, but may be accompanied by a rise in this rate as a result of the frustrated joining the labor force, in response to the high probability of getting a job, and the high rate of expected wages. Diagnosing frustrated individuals and knowing their characteristics helps and their frustrations, in formulating appropriate policies to accommodate them in the labor force. These policies are related to matters such as: expansion of training activities, the required qualification in the labor market, the efficient dissemination of sufficient information about the signals of this market, and the creation of appropriate financing channels to activate private work. It also helps in directing these policies towards groups that are more important than others in this regard, such as: young groups, females, people with low education, and people with low incomes. All of this will pave the way for reducing the unemployment rate and raising the rate of economic activity of the population in Jordan