Report: Palestine unemployment up to 41% in 2017

Unemployment among youth aged 15-29 years in the Palestinian territories has increased from 30.7 per cent in 2007 to 41 per cent in 2017, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics revealed yesterday.

“Youth unemployment in the West Bank rose from 25.6 per cent in 2007 to 27.2 per cent in 2017 while youth unemployment in the Gaza Strip has increased at a faster rate from 39.8 per cent in 2007 to 61.2 per cent in 2017,” the Bureau said in a statement released on International Youth Day.

There are not more than 400,000 unemployed Palestinians, the study revealed.

Youth in Palestine represent nearly one third – 28.2 per cent – of Palestinian society.

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Unemployment in Gaza has increased in recent years as a result of Israel’s siege of the enclave and the closure of its land and sea ports.

The Palestinian Businessmen Association announced Saturday that more than 95 per cent of factories in Gaza had been shut down.

Chairman Ali al-Hayek said: “About 75,000 people have lost their jobs because of the closure of the Karm Abu Salem [Kerem Shalom] crossing.”

He warned that Gaza’s economy is going through a dangerous phase as a result of the Israeli blockade.