Amman, 19 November 2025
Children in Jordan are facing an increasingly alarmingreality shaped by expanding poverty and the declining quality of publiceducation, two factors pushing a growing number of them into the labor marketat the expense of their right to education and protection. Despite numerousofficial and non-official initiatives to curb the phenomenon, the root causesremain largely unaddressed, with no comprehensive solutions targeting thestructural drivers of child labor.
In a statement issued on the occasion of World Children’sDay, observed annually on November 20, the Jordan Labor Watch, affiliated withthe Phenix Center for Economic Studies, emphasized that current effortsprimarily focus on penalizing non-compliant employers and reintegratingchildren into schools. Meanwhile, they fail to address the underlying causes ofchild labor, chiefly poverty and the weak learning environment in publicschools. The Watch added that the reduced appeal of public schools in recentyears, due to overcrowding, shortages of qualified staff, and inadequate safelearning environments, has pushed many children to drop out and seek work,particularly among families facing mounting economic pressures.
Labor Watch explained that available qualitative indicatorspoint to a notable increase in child labor compared to the 2016 statistics,which documented around 75,000 working children in Jordan, including 45,000engaged in hazardous work. This rise coincides with poverty rates reaching 24percent according to government statements and 35 percent according to theWorld Bank, in addition to unemployment reaching 21 percent.
The Labor Watch stressed that widening poverty and declininghousehold income are the primary drivers pushing families to send theirchildren to work. This trend has been reinforced by austerity-driven economicpolicies, an increased reliance on indirect taxation that erodes householdpurchasing power, and stagnant wages that fail to keep pace with rising prices,factors that have collectively worsened living standards for large segments ofsociety.
Labor Watch warned that child labor carries severe long-termconsequences. Beyond depriving children of their rights to education, play, andhealthy development, it also contributes to the emergence of new generations ofpoor and unskilled workers, undermining sustainable economic growth anddeepening intergenerational cycles of poverty.
The statement emphasized that effectively combating childlabor requires comprehensive policies grounded in strengthening economicprotection, improving the quality of education, and ensuring equitable socialservices that prevent families from slipping into poverty.
Labor Watch recommended addressing the economic and socialdrivers of child labor, particularly poverty, unemployment, and low wages, whilerevisiting tax policies to reduce excessive reliance on indirect taxes thatburden low-income households. It also called for improving public basiceducation, strengthening the attractiveness and safety of school environmentsto reduce dropout rates, and expanding social protection programs.
The statement concluded by stressing that protecting childrenfrom early labor begins with fair and integrated policies that address poverty,education, and social protection simultaneously, ensuring that every child inJordan enjoys the right to learn and grow in a safe and dignified environment.