Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on April 9, 2022

Executive Summary

The COVID-19 pandemic drastically altered the daily lives of countless individuals across the globe, threatening their health and livelihoods and impacting businesses, supply chains, and government revenues. Jordan and Palestine were not spared from these effects, leading their governments and populations to struggle to gain footing as the resulting health and economic crises ensued. Young job seekers, particularly women, refugees, and youth with disabilities, have been disproportionately affected by the crisis through job losses and heightened barriers to entering the workforce.

The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Jordan was detected on March 2, 2020. Just days later on March 5, the first confirmed case was detected in Palestine. Since this initial outbreak, nearly 1.5 million cases have been confirmed in Jordan, as have more than 600,000 in Palestine.1 Despite early successes in limiting the spread of COVID-19,Jordan and Palestine faced significant waves of infections beginning in the latter part of 2020 and continue to grapple with an ever-changing landscape of new variants.

Following the initial outbreaks, the Government of Jordan (GoJ) and the Palestinian Authority (PA) reacted quickly to curb the spread of the virus, instituting movement restrictions, curfews, and limits on public gatherings that varied in severity.These critical measures implemented to protect public health led to shrinking private sector revenue and significant job losses, affecting vulnerable populations the most acutely. Both the GoJ and the PA made efforts to quickly respond to the resulting economic crisis, with varying levels of success.

Jordan and Palestine faced substantial challenges connecting youth to the workplace prior to the pandemic, with youth unemployment rates reaching 36.8% in Jordan and 40% in Palestine in 2019.2

During the COVID-19 economic recovery period, it will be critical to support the integration of youth, particularly the most vulnerable, into the labor market and prepare them with the needed skills and experience to seize new opportunities in the transformed global economy.

Efforts to integrate youth into the labor market may entail varying forms of training in fields ranging from vocational trades to ICT and virtual freelancing. They may also involve the provision of mentoring and job or apprenticeship placement services. Importantly, these efforts will require a focus on guiding youth toward opportunities in sectors most likely to grow during the COVID-19 recovery. Equipping youth with the competencies needed to adapt and demonstrate resilience in a rapidly evolving job market will greatly facilitate this process.

Initiatives aimed at integrating youth into the labor market during the COVID-19 recovery will also benefit from collective action among government, the private sector, and civil society to advance creative approaches to connect the most vulnerable youth with sustainable economic opportunities.

See more here:

COVID-19 and Youth Employment in Jordan and Palestine: Impacts, Opportunities, and a Way Forward - occupied Palestinian territory - ReliefWeb

Category: Palestine
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