Minister of Labour Nidal Bataineh, on Sunday, December 15, 2019, issued a decision to secure job opportunities for Jordanian youth in the private sector.

Under the decision, expatriate workers will be directed towards specific occupations that aren't currently appealing to Jordanians, Bataineh said in a statement.

These decisions were issued in implementation of the Ministry's plans and programs to regulate the labor market, and seek to onboard qualified Jordanian labor instead of non-Jordanian workers, in a manner that enhances Jordanians employment and doesn't impact interests of investors.

The Ministry of Labour is fully aware of employers' needs for expatriate workers in a number of sectors and professions that don't currently attract Jordanians, Bataineh added, noting that the decision included additions to the list of closed and restricted jobs and professions with specialized skills for non-Jordanians for the year 2019 and linking certain professions with specific rate in exchange for employing Jordanian workers according to the rate for each sector.

The minister decided to close professions of establishments, the economic activity of which revolves around household maintenance and maintenance of electrical appliances or any activity that falls within this activity, and that non-Jordanian workers are not allowed to work in, nor is any non-Jordanian worker permitted to practice them.

The Ministry of Labour stipulated that all establishments that employ Jordanian workers must achieve the employment rates of non-Jordanians and their continued participation in social security, for the purposes of continuing to obtain work permits.

Bataineh said the ministry will start reducing non-Jordanian cleaning workers in 2020 to replace them with Jordanian cleaning workers by 100 percent over four years in 2024.