Report: 360,000 unemployed Palestinians in West Bank, Gaza Strip

As many as 360,000 Palestinians are unemployed including 206,800 in the Gaza Strip, a new report has found.

The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics said in a report today that the Palestinian workforce is made up of 1.341 million people among which the unemployment rate has increased from 25.9 per cent in 2015 to 26.9 per cent during 2016. Palestinians aged between 20-24 years old were the most likely to be unemployed with the rate for that age bracket reaching 43.2 per cent last year.

Some 45.6 per cent of those living in the West Bank were in employment compared to 46.1 per cent of those living in the Gaza Strip while the unemployment rate reached 41.7 per cent in Gaza Strip and 18.2 per cent in the West Bank.

The report added that the daily salary reached 98.1 Israeli shekels ($26.13) in the West Bank, compared with 61.7 shekels ($16.44) in the Gaza Strip.

The number of Palestinians who work in Israel and the settlements reached 116,800 in 2016 compared with 112,300 workers in 2015 of whom only 61,300 have the necessary permits.

The number of workers in the Israeli settlements fell to 20,800 workers in 2016, compared to 22,400 in 2015.

A majority of workers in Israel are employed in the construction sector.