The unemployment rate soared to 25 per cent during the first quarter of 2021, rising by 5.7 points compared with the same period in 2020, the Department of Statistics (DoS) said on Monday.

In its quarterly report on the unemployment rate in the Kingdom, DoS said that the rate among males during the January-March period of 2021 went up by 6.1 points to 24.2 per cent, while the rate among females increased by 4.2 points to 28.5 per cent compared with the same period of 2020.

The unemployment rate among university degree holders (unemployed individuals holding a bachelor’s or higher degree divided by the workforce of the same academic qualification), also went up to 27.8 per cent compared with other educational levels.

The results also indicated that 51 per cent of unemployed people hold a secondary education certificate or a higher qualification, while 29 per cent of jobless people were those with less than secondary educational qualifications.

The unemployment rate also differed according to gender, as the rate of unemployed males who hold a bachelor’s degree and higher reached 25.1 per cent, where the percentage increased to 79.6 per cent among females who hold at least a bachelor’s degree.

Geographically, Madaba topped the list of unemployment among the 12 governorates registering 28.3 per cent, while Karak recorded the lowest unemployment rate in the Kingdom with 17 per cent.

The results also indicated that 70.1 per cent of the total workforce of females hold a bachelor's degree or higher, compared with 24.8 per cent among males.