Jordan’s garment exports are expected to grow by at least eight per cent this year. The US is Jordan’s number one export market. The country’s garment exports to the European Union are also expected to increase, in light of the simplified rules of origin agreement. These allow for Jordanian manufacturers to export local products to the EU with up to 70 per cent of the product’s make-up comprising imported materials.

Still, the sector faces several challenges. They include the absence of trained and qualified local labor, high borrowing costs and lack of experience among leaders of the sector’s small and medium sub segment.

Of these challenges, the percentage of foreign labor in the sector is the most pressing issue. About 75 per cent workers in the sector are foreign laborers. Factory owners feel hiring foreign labor is cheaper. Many Jordanian youths think they are overqualified to be working in factories. Jordanians who hold degrees tend to not only avoid working in garment factories, but in any job that includes physical labor. They prefer to find a job that society deems prestigious. Jordanian workers are not inclined to work overtime, which is another reason the sector leans towards employing a foreign workforce.