RAMALLAH, The unemployment rate among labor force participants in Palestine reached 24% in 2022, compared to 26.4% in 2021, and the total labor underutilization reached 31%, according to the International Labor Organization standards, today said the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS).

There is still a wide gap in the unemployment rate between the West Bank and Gaza Strip, as this rate reached 45% in Gaza Strip compared to 13% in the West Bank, said the PCBS. On the gender level, the unemployment rate for females reached 40% compared to 20% for males in Palestine.

The number of unemployed was 367,000 in 2022 (239,000 in Gaza Strip and 128,000 in the West Bank), said the PCBS, adding that total labor underutilization was 500,000 persons including 56,000 discouraged jobseekers and 22,000 in time-related underemployment.

Hebron governorate in the West Bank and Deir al-Balah governorate in Gaza Strip recorded the highest unemployment rates in 2022.

Hebron Governorate recorded a 16.9% unemployment rate followed by 16.8% in Jenin governorate while Jerusalem governorate recorded 3.2%, which is the lowest among the West Bank governorates. In the Gaza Strip, Deir al-Balah Governorate recorded a 54.8% unemployment rate followed by Khan Younis, 49.4%, while North Gaza governorate reached 38.4% which is the lowest among Gaza Strip governorates.

The unemployment rate was the highest among youth graduates (19-29 years) holding an intermediate diploma or higher reaching 48.3% and representing 25.6% of total unemployed (61.3% for females compared to 34.3% for males). At the regional level, the unemployment rate for youth graduates in the West Bank reached 28.6% compared to 73.9% in Gaza Strip.

About 7 out of 10 of males participated in the labor force, compared with about 2 out of 10 of females, and the rate of female participation in the labor force was 18.6% compared to 70.7% for males.

There is still a wide gap in the labor force participation rate between the West Bank and Gaza Strip, as this rate reached 41.0% in Gaza Strip compared to 47.5% in the West Bank.

The number of entrants into the labor market in 2022 was about 95,000 (37,000 individuals in the West Bank and 58,000 individuals in Gaza Strip).

The number of employed in the local market increased from 889,000 in 2021 to 940,000 in 2022, where it increased in the West Bank by 4.0%, and in Gaza Strip by 9.9% for the same period.

The services sector and other branches (including education and health) were the biggest employers in the local market, where the percentage of employment was more than one-third of the employed in the West Bank compared with more than half in the Gaza Strip.

The average weekly hours worked by wage employees in the West Bank was 43.5 hours compared with 36.9 hours in Gaza Strip. And the average number of days worked per month was 22.7 days in the West Bank and 21.8 days in Gaza Strip. On the other hand, the average daily wage in the West Bank reached 125.6 Israeli shekels while in Gaza Strip reached 57.1 shekels.

The number of workers in Israel and the settlements in the year 2022 reached about 193,000 workers, of whom 29,000 work in the Israeli settlements. The percentage of workers in Israel and the settlements who obtained work permits reached 58.6%, while the percentage of workers without work permits was about 20.7%, and for those who have a foreign passport, the percentage reached 20.7%.

The construction sector recorded the highest employment rate in Israel and the Israeli settlements, which constitutes 57.4% of the total Palestinian workers in Israel and the Israeli settlements. While their average daily wage is 276 Israeli shekels.

About 8 out of 10 of the employed are wage employees with 76% of the employed are wage employees, 20% are self-employed and employers, while 4% are unpaid family members.

About two-thirds of the wage employees in the private sector are hired without any contract, as 65% of wage employees in the private sector are hired without any contract, and 26% of wage employees contribute to a pension fund/end-of-service benefit. In contrast, 44% of wage female employees have paid maternity leave.

At the same time, 40% of wage employees in the private sector in Palestine received monthly wages less than the monthly minimum wage of 1,880 Israeli shekels.in 2022; the percentage was 19% in the West Bank with an average monthly wage of about 1,419 shekels, and 89% in the Gaza Strip with an average monthly wage of about 697 shekels.

It is worth to mention that the minimum wage in 2021 was 1,450 shekels and if we compare this minimum wage (1,450 shekels) between 2021 and 2022 we noticed an increase in the percentage of wage employees in the private sector who receive a monthly wage less than the minimum wage in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip between 2021 and 2022 from 7% to 8% in the West Bank and from 81% to 86% in Gaza Strip.

The percentage of employed children in the West Bank is higher than it is in Gaza Strip with 3% of children aged 10-17 years were employed; 5% in the West Bank and 1% in Gaza Strip.

Source: Palestine News & Info Agency