Own Account Workers in Jordan: Profile and Work Characteristics

In this paper, we compare own account workers (employers and the self-employed) to private sector wage workers in Jordan using the Jordan Labor Market Panel Surveys of 2010 and 2016. Our results demonstrate that own account workers are demographically dissimilar from wage workers in the private sector. Own account workers tend to be older, male, and have more work experience. While they have lower educational attainment than private sector wage workers, own account workers exhibit relatively higher wealth outcomes. Capital transfers from fathers who were also own account workers are an important determinant of a worker being an employer or self-employed. In terms of job characteristics, the self-employed were more likely than other private sector workers to work outside of a fixed establishment, with many engaged in transportation-related activities. Employers and self-employed workers were also concentrated in wholesale and retail trades in both 2010 and 2016. Own account workers frequently reported being overqualified for their jobs, and the self-employed exhibited the lowest levels of job satisfaction of all private sector job types.