Experts: Jordan's Advanced Results in Social Protection Enhance Economic Empowerment

Speaking to Alrai, the experts noted that the government's continued allocation of financial support to eligible recipients within the general state budget through several vital axes—including subsidizing the prices of bread and gas cylinders, supporting wheat and barley prices, absorbing fuel price differentials, and directing support to social aid and impoverished students, with these amounts exceeding 350 million dinars annually—undoubtedly constitutes genuine support for Jordanian families, helping them meet their needs, alleviating the burdens of life and rising prices, and falling under the umbrella of social protection and supporting vulnerable groups to achieve social and economic security and stability.

A recent World Bank report showed that Jordan has achieved remarkable progress in implementing the "Resilient and Sustainable Social Protection" program, surpassing the final targets set for 2029 in a number of performance indicators, particularly in non-cash social services, productive inclusion, and the professionalization of social work.

According to the latest program implementation monitoring report, the number of beneficiaries of at least one non-cash social service reached 59,007 people as of June 2026, compared to a final target of 20,000 beneficiaries by March 2029.

Additionally, the number of female beneficiaries of non-cash services reached 33,797 women, against a final target of 10,000, while the number of young beneficiaries reached 41,014 youth, compared to a target of 20,000.

In the field of productive inclusion, the number of beneficiaries from training, employment, and economic empowerment programs rose to 3,071 beneficiaries, exceeding the final target of 2,000 beneficiaries, while the number of female beneficiaries reached 1,359 women, compared to a target of 500 women.

Within the framework of professionalizing social work and capacity building, the report showed the accreditation and licensing of 1,296 social workers as of last June, surpassing the final target of 1,000 specialists by the end of the program.

The World Bank noted that this progress has prompted the program team to consider updating the targets during the upcoming mid-term review, reflecting results achieved at a faster pace than planned.

Conversely, the number of beneficiaries from various cash interventions reached approximately 950,000 people, against a final target of 1.2 million people by 2029, while the number of families covered by the National Aid Fund's unified cash transfer program stood at 210,837 families as of June 2026.

Economic expert Wajdi Makhamreh pointed out that, based on the World Bank report on Jordan's progress in implementing the "Resilient and Sustainable Social Protection" program, the economic implications go beyond merely increasing the number of beneficiaries of this program; rather, they indicate a gradual shift in the philosophy of social protection in Jordan from cash assistance to investment in human capital and economic empowerment.

Makhamreh also noted that the most prominent economic implications of this report are represented by the transition from the principle of cash support to the principle of economic empowerment, as the number of beneficiaries from training, employment, and economic empowerment programs exceeded 3,071 beneficiaries, compared to a final target of 2,000. This is a positive indicator of the system's orientation toward helping families and individuals generate income and achieve self-reliance, instead of long-term dependence on aid.

He added that a second implication is that the high participation of women and youth in this program has had an important economic impact. The fact that female beneficiaries of non-cash services reached approximately 33.8 thousand women and young beneficiaries exceeded 41 thousand enhances the opportunities for integrating groups with high productive capacities into the labor market. This is crucial for Jordan in light of high unemployment rates, particularly among youth and women.

He further added that a third implication is that social protection has become a tool for economic stability, as having a social protection system capable of responding to economic and regional shocks helps protect the purchasing power of the most vulnerable families, thereby curbing the sharp decline in consumption during crises and contributing to the stability of domestic demand and economic activity.

He cited a fourth implication pointing to the improvement of government spending efficiency, as expanding the Jordanian Social Registry system and integrating services into it represents an important step toward directing support to those who deserve it based on more accurate data, with the potential to reduce waste and improve the return on every dinar spent by the state on social protection.

He added that another implication indicates the achievement of the principle of professionalizing social work, which will elevate the quality of services. The licensing and accreditation of 1,296 social workers, surpassing the final target of 1,000, means that social protection is moving toward becoming a more professional system, rather than merely a mechanism for disbursing aid.

Makhamreh concluded that the most important aspect of the report is that Jordan is getting closer to redefining social protection as an economic investment rather than just a financial burden. Whenever spending shifts from continuous aid to training, employment, and economic empowerment, it becomes possible to transform a portion of beneficiaries from consumers of support into producers and contributors to the national economy.

However, the success of this transition, according to Makhamreh, ultimately depends on the Jordanian economy's ability to create genuine and productive jobs that can absorb these beneficiaries; because training and empowerment without job growth will limit the economic impact of the program. Consequently, the upcoming challenge is not only expanding the social protection umbrella, but linking it more closely to employment, investment, and economic growth policies. This is the path that can make social protection part of the economic solution, rather than merely a response to poverty and unemployment.

Economic expert Mounir Dayeh stated that Jordan's progress in implementing the "Resilient and Sustainable Social Protection" program—having surpassed the final targets set for 2029 in a number of key axes, most notably non-cash social services, productive inclusion, and the professionalization of social work—reflects a clear leap in those indicators. Jordan has managed to achieve results better than the program's targets three years ahead of schedule and at double the targeted figures in the program.

He pointed out that the figures released by the World Bank indicate that the number of beneficiaries of at least one non-cash social service reached nearly 59,000 people up to June 2026, whereas the target until 2029 was about 20,000 people. This demonstrates the role of government efforts exerted to achieve social security and continue providing financial support and social aid to deserving groups of Jordanian society.

He added: As the report shows, in the field of productive inclusion, the number of beneficiaries from training, employment, and economic empowerment programs reached nearly 3,000 beneficiaries, while the target was about 2,000 people. This highlights the efforts exerted to integrate youth and women into the labor market through training and rehabilitation so they can contribute to securing a sustainable income and providing job opportunities capable of securing a dignified life for them and their families. This axis is extremely vital for the individual to become a productive, active actor capable of helping themselves to secure the requirements of life through work and production.

Dayeh noted that the number of beneficiaries from various cash interventions reached approximately 950,000 people, approaching the 2029 target of 1.2 million people. This indicates that the targeted and deserving groups for cash support in all its forms are benefiting directly from the support, which provides them with social support and protection, and signals that financial aid is going to those who deserve it and to the targeted groups.

He mentioned that the government's continued allocation of financial support to eligible recipients within the general state budget through several vital axes—including subsidizing the prices of bread and gas cylinders, supporting wheat and barley prices, absorbing fuel price differentials, and directing support to social aid and impoverished students, with these amounts exceeding 350 million dinars annually—undoubtedly constitutes genuine support for Jordanian families, helping them meet their needs, alleviating the burdens of life and rising prices, and falling under the umbrella of social protection and supporting vulnerable groups to achieve social and economic security and stability.

Financial and economic expert Dr. Mohammed Al-Hadab emphasized that the results shown by the World Bank report on Jordan's progress in the "Resilient and Sustainable Social Protection" program reflect an important development in the social protection system. However, the greater economic value of these results lies in transitioning from the concept of protection based solely on providing assistance to a broader concept that links support to empowerment, empowerment to work, and work to income and economic independence, so that social protection becomes part of growth and production policy rather than merely a tool to address poverty and need.

Al-Hadab explained that a reading of the figures shows that some indicators did not exceed their final targets for 2029 by a narrow margin, but rather by multiples. The number of beneficiaries of non-cash social services reached 59,007 compared to a target of 20,000, which is about 295% of the target. Additionally, the number of female beneficiaries reached 33,797 compared to 10,000, or about 338% of the target, while the number of youth reached 41,014 compared to 20,000—more than double the final target—about three years ahead of the program's conclusion.

Al-Hadab pointed out that the most economically significant indicator relates to productive inclusion, as the number of beneficiaries from training, employment, and economic empowerment programs rose to 3,071 compared to a final target of 2,000, which is about 154% of the target. Meanwhile, the number of female beneficiaries reached 1,359 compared to a target of 500 women, or about 272%. These figures are important because they indicate the direction in which social protection should expand in the future: from helping individuals cope with immediate need to empowering those able to work to build a sustainable source of income.

Al-Hadab stated that the importance of this shift multiplies when linked to the labor market, given that unemployment among Jordanians remains at around 21% in the second quarter of 2026. Therefore, social protection and employment policies must not operate on two separate tracks. Whenever a program succeeds in moving an able-bodied person from support to training and then to a job or productive activity, a dual return is achieved for the state: a social return by improving the family's living standards, and an economic return by increasing labor market participation, production, and income, while reducing future need for assistance.

He added that the number of beneficiaries from various cash interventions reaching about 950,000 people out of a target of 1.2 million by 2029, alongside 210,837 families benefiting from the unified cash transfer program, confirms the expansion of the social safety net. However, the next phase requires adding a new question alongside "How many people received assistance?": "How many people were able to transition to a sustainable economic opportunity after receiving support?" This is where the real transition from social spending to social investment begins.

Al-Hadab explained that another figure deserves attention from a financial perspective: the amount disbursed from the program's financing reached $151.2 million out of $400 million, or 37.8%, at a time when a group of service and empowerment indicators exceeded their final 2029 targets. This comparison does not mean that the 37.8% of funding alone produced all these outcomes due to the differing components of the program, but it justifies conducting a deeper evaluation to understand the social and economic return on every dinar spent, identifying the programs that achieve the highest impact, and directing more resources toward them.

He pointed out that the Jordanian Social Register can become one of the most important tools for increasing the efficiency of this spending. So far, 6 services have been integrated out of 12 targeted services, while the program aims to expand the register's database to cover 75% of the Kingdom's population by its conclusion. With the completion of the linkage between data and services, the register can evolve from a database of beneficiaries into a digital social infrastructure that helps the state improve targeting, reduce support duplication, direct each family to the service it needs, and respond more quickly to economic shocks.

Al-Hadab noted that exceeding targets several years before the end of the program calls for raising the ceiling of ambition in the mid-term review, and not just by increasing target numbers. If the target for non-cash services was 20,000 beneficiaries and the number has already reached over 59,000, raising the numerical target alone is not enough; rather, it is necessary to transition to a new generation of indicators that measure service quality, economic outcomes, and the sustainability of impact.

In this context, he suggested developing a "transition from protection to production index," which tracks able-bodied individuals from beneficiary families through clear stages starting with support, followed by training and qualification, then employment or establishing a project, leading up to income stability. The index could measure the percentage of those who secured employment 6 and 12 months after training, the average increase in family income, job retention, the share of women and youth, and the cost incurred by the state for each successful transition to the labor market.

Al-Hadab emphasized that the private sector must be a key partner in this path. The government can identify the beneficiary, provide training, and offer incentives, but a sustainable job ultimately requires a productive enterprise and a real market. Therefore, a larger portion of training and qualification programs can be linked to the actual needs of companies, such that program design begins with the question, "What jobs and skills does the private sector need?" and then the beneficiary is trained accordingly and linked to an employment opportunity, rather than training first and searching for a job later.

He indicated that the professionalization of social work also supports this shift, as the number of certified and licensed social workers reached 1,296 compared to a final target of 1,000 workers, or about 130% of the target. The higher the social worker's efficiency in diagnosing the family's situation and the needs of its members, the more possible it becomes to move from providing a general service to building an economic and social path for each family that determines who needs protection, who needs training, and who can transition to work and production.

Al-Hadab concluded by stressing that the results achieved by Jordan provide an opportunity to transition to a more advanced stage in managing social protection, where the criterion for success is not only the expansion of the safety net, but also the ability of this net to build an economic ladder above it through which those able to work can climb toward production and financial independence.

He added: The success of social protection is not measured solely by the number of people reached by support, but by the number of people whose life course changed because of it. Assistance protects a family today, but skills, jobs, and sustainable income protect it for years. The equation Jordan needs is: protection when needed, empowerment for the capable, an opportunity to work, and then a sustainable income. At that point, social protection transforms from an item of expenditure into an investment in human beings and economic growth.