Phenix Center for Economic & Informatics Studies Phenix Center for Economic & Informatics Studies
Amman, May 11, 2026
A new report on employment trends in Jordan during the first quarter of 2026 has revealed that more than half of the job vacancies advertised in the Jordanian labor market now require communication, language, and digital skills. This indicates that a university degree alone is no longer sufficient to secure employment, as the labor market is rapidly shifting toward a model based on skills, practical experience, and technology. However, a significant number of jobs are still filled through traditional channels based on personal connections and are not advertised in newspapers or digital platforms.
The report, issued by the Phenix Center for Economic and Informatics Studies, which monitored job advertisements published in print newspapers and various online platforms, found that 53.3% of advertised jobs require communication skills and English language proficiency, while 51.5% require technical and digital skills. In addition, 47.4% of vacancies require administrative, organizational, and project management skills, reflecting a rapid transformation in the nature of labor demand in the Jordanian market.
The findings show that digital platforms have become the primary channel for job advertising, accounting for 69.4% of all monitored job postings, compared to only 30.6% in print newspapers. The report considers this evidence of the ongoing digitalization of the employment market in Jordan, while print newspapers continue to play a role in certain official and institutional announcements.
According to the report, LinkedIn ranked first among digital platforms, accounting for 23.9% of total job advertisements, followed by Bayt at 14.5%, Tanqeeb at 10.1%, and Akhtaboot at 8.7%. This suggests that job seekers increasingly need a strong digital professional presence and continuous engagement with online platforms.
At the occupational level, management, project management, human resources, and procurement jobs ranked first, representing 17% of total vacancies. These were followed by engineering, construction, energy, quality, and safety roles at 14.5%, and marketing, sales, business development, and customer service at 12.9%.
The report also highlighted strong demand in health, education, and technology sectors. Health-related jobs (medicine, nursing, and psychosocial support) accounted for 10.6%, education, training, and research for 10.3%, and information technology, programming, data, and artificial intelligence for 9.7%.
It noted that these findings reflect a diversified labor market demand in Jordan, extending beyond digital jobs to traditional and service sectors, but with a clear shift in the types of skills required across all fields.
Regarding educational qualifications, the report found that 51.7% of job postings require a bachelor’s degree, while only 9.4% require a high school diploma or equivalent. A master’s degree or higher diploma is required in 6.9% of vacancies, specialized certificates in 5.7%, and diploma or associate degrees in 3.7%. Only 2.5% require a PhD, while 1.1% require only basic literacy skills. Meanwhile, 19% of postings did not specify any educational requirement.
However, the report emphasized that academic qualifications alone are no longer the decisive factor in recruitment, as most jobs now combine university education with practical skills such as English proficiency, digital literacy, and project management.
In a notable finding, 37.5% of job advertisements did not specify a particular academic major, which the report interprets as evidence of a shift in parts of the labor market toward prioritizing skills and practical experience over academic specialization alone.
The data also shows that English has become a dominant language in the advertised labor market, with 61.4% of job postings published in English compared to 38.6% in Arabic. The report links this to the expansion of international companies, organizations, and modern management and technology sectors, noting that English has effectively become a “gateway skill” to a large share of job opportunities.
In terms of work experience, the labor market clearly favors candidates with moderate to high levels of experience. About 20.1% of vacancies require 5 to less than 7 years of experience, and 19.4% require 3 to less than 5 years. In contrast, only 21.6% of jobs do not require prior experience or are open to fresh graduates.
The report sees this as reflecting a persistent “experience gap” faced by young people entering the labor market, underscoring the need to strengthen practical and applied training during university education and to better align education with real labor market needs.
The report concluded with several recommendations, most notably the need to redesign university programs to better link academic disciplines with practical skills, expand technical and vocational education, introduce mandatory practical training within study plans, and enhance professional English language education.
It also urged job seekers to focus on building marketable skills such as communication, English proficiency, digital skills, teamwork, and to develop professional digital profiles showcasing their experience, projects, and volunteer or practical work.
The report concluded that the Jordanian labor market is moving toward a new model that combines academic qualifications, skills, practical experience, language proficiency, and technological capability. It stressed that the best employment opportunities are increasingly tied to a job seeker’s ability to demonstrate skills and adapt to changing work environments, rather than relying on academic credentials alone.
