Jordan has faced a series of shocks including influx of refugees, regional instabilities, and economic
pressures for a long period of time. The high unemployment coupled with increased poverty are caused
mainly by the limited capacity of the public sector to pursue a coherent and effective policy to promote
employability, provide the enabling business environment for start-ups and existing businesses, ease
access to credit, as well as to promote lifelong learning and an entrepreneurial culture and education among youth and women together with the development of necessary technical skills. The low activity rates, particularly among women, are constraining economic growth, and together with high job informality, are limiting the capacity of the labor market to reduce poverty.