Activities

Amman, June 11, 2026

Jordanian Labor Watch has warned that a range of accumulated economic and social indicators observed in Jordan over recent years suggest a significant increase in child labor compared to the levels documented by the last comprehensive national field survey conducted in 2016. The organization stressed that continued reliance on data that is nearly a decade old undermines efforts to accurately understand the true scale of the phenomenon and limits the effectiveness of policies and programs designed to address it.

In a research report released on the occasion of the World Day Against Child Labor, Jordanian Labor Watch noted that the latest national study estimated the number of working children in Jordan at approximately 75,000, including around 45,000 engaged in work classified as hazardous. However, Jordan has not conducted a new national survey since then to assess the scale and trends of child labor in light of the economic and social transformations the country has experienced.

Jordanian Labor Watch emphasized that child labor should not be viewed solely as a legal or regulatory violation, but rather as a direct reflection of deeper structural challenges related to poverty, low wages, weak social protection systems, and the expansion of the informal economy.

According to the report, a working child does not merely represent a violation of children’s rights; rather, it reflects a household facing mounting economic pressures, a labor market that fails to provide sufficient income for adults, and a social protection system that remains unable to reach all vulnerable groups in need.

The report pointed out that the years following the 2016 survey were marked by successive crises, most notably the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, inflationary pressures and rising living costs, persistently high unemployment rates, increasing poverty levels, and declining purchasing power due to low wages. These challenges have been compounded by the indirect effects of rapidly evolving regional developments, particularly the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, which has contributed to slowdowns in certain economic, commercial, and tourism activities, as well as repeated increases in the prices of goods, services, and fuel.

Jordanian Labor Watch explained that these developments have intensified financial pressures on households, particularly low-income families, prompting some to adopt harsh coping mechanisms, including sending children to work in order to supplement household income.

The report highlighted that the growing phenomenon of the “working poor” has become one of the key factors behind the persistence of child labor. Having employed family members is no longer sufficient to lift households out of poverty or secure a decent standard of living, given the widening gap between wages and living costs.

Jordanian Labor Watch added that the majority of child labor is concentrated within the informal economy, including agriculture, small workshops, family-owned businesses, and street vending. These sectors are characterized by weak oversight and the absence of social protection, making it more difficult to identify working children and exposing them to greater risks of exploitation and harm.

The report also referred to recent field studies reviewed by Jordanian Labor Watch, which indicate the continued employment of children in the agricultural sector. Many are engaged in exhausting and hazardous activities, including intensive manual harvesting, the use of sharp tools, and work under harsh climatic conditions, often without adequate rest periods.

Jordanian Labor Watch stressed that the persistence of child labor over several decades, despite numerous national strategies and action plans, demonstrates that the core problem does not lie in the absence of legislation. Rather, it stems from the continued reproduction of the economic and social conditions that push children into the labor market.

The organization further emphasized that reducing child labor requires moving beyond a narrow inspection- and enforcement-based approach toward a comprehensive development-oriented strategy that addresses poverty, in-work poverty, and economic vulnerability. Such an approach should include raising wages, improving education, expanding social protection, and reducing the size of the informal economy, alongside strengthening the monitoring and inspection capacities of the Ministry of Labor.

In conclusion, Jordanian Labor Watch called for the urgent implementation of a new national child labor survey to provide updated and accurate data that would help assess the true scale and trends of the phenomenon and support the development of more effective policies to protect children and prevent their entry into the labor market.