Jordan child labor incidence rises during coronavirus pandemic

Child labor incidence in Jordan increased over the past three months due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a study by the Jordan Labour Watch (JLW).

The continuing COVID-19 crisis is also expected to further increase the number of child laborers in Jordan, according to study that was released on World Against Child Labour Day.

“Several studies in Jordan have indicated that child labourers come from poor families and that COVID-19 will increase the number of the poor and put pressure on the families to pull out their children from schools and send them into the labour market,” Director of the Phenix Centre for Economic Studies, Ahmad Awad, told local daily The Jordan Times.

Statistics indicated that Jordan currently has 70,000 child laborers of which 45,000 work in “dangerous professions”, the JLW report said.

Millions of children risk being pushed into child labor as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, which could lead to the first rise in child labor after 20 years of decline, a statement by International Labour Organisation and UNICEF said.