Jordan's Foreign Labor Ban: Economic Restructuring or Political Control?

The new policy audits illegal workers possibly linked to foreign-backed resistance groups.

Image: MERIP

Last month, Jordan’s Ministry of Labour suspended the recruitment of non-Jordanian workers for three months, alongside an inspection campaign targeting expatriate employment violations. Officially, the policy aims to restructure the labour market, prioritising Jordanian citizens amid high unemployment and economic strain. However, this move may also serve as a strategic tool to suppress dissent and curb pro-Palestine movements, mirroring the government’s crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood.

Jordan is also closely observing Iran’s recent security challenges involving Afghan refugees, some of whom reportedly played a role in targeting critical infrastructure and military assets on behalf of Israel. In the aftermath of the ceasefire, Iran responded by forcibly repatriating large numbers of undocumented Afghan nationals. Concerned about the possibility of a similar security breach, Jordan is now taking pre-emptive measures to prevent such a scenario from unfolding within its own borders.

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Economic Crackdown

Jordan’s economy, with a GDP of approximately $50 billion (2024), faces unemployment rates above 20%, with rates even higher among youth. Competition from over 1.3 million Syrian refugees in informal sectors like construction has intensified public frustration. The new labour policy seeks to alleviate these tensions by reserving jobs for Jordanians and formalising the labour market, building on the 2016 Jordan Compact’s efforts to regulate refugee employment.