A general view of the skyline from Jordan’s first ‘Air Taxi’ in Amman, Jordan January 4, 2019. Picture taken January 4, 2019. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed
Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com
AMMAN, July 18 (Reuters) – Jordan’s economy is expected to grow 2.1% this year, with rising commodity prices, supply shortages and the impact of the war in Ukraine posing major downside risks, the World Bank said on Monday.
The bank said in a new study that the kingdom’s economic recovery is expected to remain robust this year but that unemployment remains at “alarming levels and reforms are needed to boost investment” to create jobs.
“Despite Jordan’s economic recovery, pressing socio-economic challenges remain, such as high unemployment, particularly among youth and women,” said Saroj Kumar Jha, regional director of World Bank Mashreq, in the report.
Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com
“In the future, accelerating the implementation of investment-friendly reforms will be crucial to inject dynamism into the economy and activate the private sector as an engine for job creation,” the official added.
World Bank growth estimates are slightly below the IMF’s most recent economic growth forecast of 2.4% for 2022, which was downgraded from a previous 2.7%.
Higher growth is seen as key to reducing the country’s high unemployment rate, which stands at around 23%.
The IMF recently said the oil-importing country had partially mitigated the impact of higher fuel and commodity prices with long-term energy deals and a healthy stock of wheat bought before the Ukraine crisis.
A recovery in tourism, as well as remittances and higher fertilizer exports have also helped cushion the economy.
Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com
Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Adaptation by Toby Chopra
Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Comments are closed.