A World Bank report estimated that Jordan’s economic growth during the current fiscal year would slow, after four years of gradual recovery, AMEinfo reported. The bank predicts GDP growth to reach 2.5% during the current year, which is less than the previous forecasts, reports Joardan-based Al Ghad newspaper. The report says that the main challenge for Jordan is facing the consequences of the influx of refugees from conflicts in Iraq and Syria, which might persist. According to the report, the decline in this year’s economic growth will be mainly due to the impacts of regional conflicts in the region, including the closing of borders with Iraq and Syria, not to mention hosting 628,000 Syrian refugees. These are in addition to the range of development challenges faced by Jordan, foremost of which is the deterioration of the labor market, where unemployment rates during the first half of this year amounted to roughly 12.5% compared with 11.4% for the same period of last year, adds the report.
