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Data from the employment office in the Zaatari camp showed that the number of Syrian refugees holding valid work permits reached 375 by the end of September 2026, while the total number of permits issued since the office's establishment in 2017 reached 29,599.
According to the office's monthly report, 31 work permits were renewed during last September, and only two new permits were issued, as part of efforts aimed at facilitating Syrian refugees' access to job opportunities.
The report stated that 18 work permit holders returned voluntarily to their home country, retaining their work permits without canceling them.
The Zaatari office operates in partnership between the Syrian Refugee Affairs Directorate, the Ministry of Labor, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the International Labour Organization (ILO), with the aim of supporting the regulation of refugee employment and facilitating their access to formal work permits outside the camp.
The data indicated that current permit holders make up about 1.8% of the approximately 20,000 refugees aged 18 and over who are eligible to work. Males account for 74 percent of total permit holders, compared to 26 percent for females, and job opportunities are mainly concentrated in craft professions, which account for 270 permits.
The report pointed out that accumulated fines and administrative procedures remain among the most prominent challenges preventing some refugees from obtaining or renewing work permits, which limits their opportunities for integration into the formal labor market.
The Jordan Investors Association, the new partner of the International Labour Organization, is scheduled to take over the management of the employment office in the camp starting in October 2026, as part of new arrangements for managing employment services and facilitating access to the formal labor market.
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