26 Thus, if digitization is used proactively in sectors and companies in Jordan, growth can be expected within the period between now and 2025. However, for digital companies to grow it is necessary to have an open and sound regulatory business environment, which the assessment has shown that Jordan does not yet fully have and need to focus on. Therefore, Jordanian digital economy companies cannot be expected to grow as much as their UK counterparts. However, once the regulatory environment is in place, Jordan has the advantage of a creative population and a strong setup around a startup culture that can boost growth in digital economy industries. The regulatory environment is assumed to be fully in place within the first two years, meaning that Jordanian digital economy companies can be expected to start growing faster after two years. After 10 years, it is estimated that the accumulative and gradual growth for digital economy industries should be between 25% and 30% for Jordan, giving Jordanian companies a few more years to reach a growth similar to the British companies. GROWTH IN JOBS The proposed focus of Jordan on selected sectors where digitization has the potential to create a competitive edge is expected to drive job creation and growth in these sectors. At the same time, international experience from Europe shows that digitization will drive productivity increase, which will have a negative impact on jobs in the short term. Nevertheless, benchmark countries have largely experienced high growth in digital economy jobs as a result of digital economy. Table 5: International examples of targets for growth in jobs In the UK, digital tech economy jobs grew approximately 11% between 2011 and 2014, which is an average yearly increase of nearly 4%. The UK has experienced a 2.8 times faster job growth in the digital tech economy compared to the rest of the economy.52 Ireland, a leading European ICT hub, expects a yearly increase in tech jobs of approx. 5%, between 2014 and 2018.53 The digital economy is expected to create new jobs in two different categories: by scaling up existing new companies in key sectors and by either creating new companies or registering new branches (new entrants), in addition to the spill-over effect. To estimate jobs created in existing companies, the following calculation has been made: The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that there are 1.2 million working Jordanians, 463,000 of whom are in the public sector. That leaves a little over 700,000 people in the private sector.54 It is estimated that half of these jobs potentially pertain to the future digital economy – the ICT sector as well as the six 52 http://www.techcityuk.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Tech-Nation-2016_FINAL-ONLINE1.pdf?utm_content=buffer2e58f&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer 53 http://www.ictireland.ie/Sectors/ICT/ICT.nsf/vPages/Papers_and_Sector_Data~ict-skills-action-plan-2014-14-032014/$file/ICT+Skills+Action+Plan+2014.pdf 54 Jordan’s National Employment Strategy 2011-2020 | REACH 2025 ACTION PLAN – ROADMAP TO EXCELLENCE