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Rise in unemployment in Palestine in 2018

April 30, 2019 at 1:18 pm

Palestinian workers can be seen repairing the damaged power lines in Gaza City [Apaimages]

Unemployment in Palestine increased in 2018 to reach about 31 per cent of the labour force compared with about 28 per cent in 2017, where the number of unemployed individuals increased from 377,000 in 2017 to 426,000 in 2018, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) revealed ahead of International Labour Day tomorrow.

According to Wafa, it said unemployment decreased slightly in the West Bank compared with a noticeably increase in the Gaza Strip which raised the overall unemployment rate in Palestine in 2018 to 31 per cent. The unemployment rate was about 18 per cent in the West Bank in 2018 compared with about 19 per cent in 2017, while the unemployment rate was about 52 per cent in the Gaza Strip in 2018 compared with 44 per cent in 2017.

Jenin and Bethlehem governorates registered the highest rates of Palestinians who are out of work in the occupied West Bank with a rate of about 21 per cent, followed by Hebron governorate with a rate of about 20 per cent. The lowest rate in the West Bank was in Qalqiliya governorate with a rate of about seven per cent followed by Jerusalem Governorate with a rate of 11 per cent.

READ: Unemployment, poverty rates in Gaza hit record high

In the Gaza Strip, Khan Younis governorate registered the highest unemployment rate with about 58 per cent followed by Deir Al-Balah with a rate of about 57 per cent, while the lowest rate was in Gaza governorate with a rate of about 48 per cent.

The highest unemployment rate was recorded among youth aged 19 to 29 years of age, which reached about 44 per cent (27 per cent in the West Bank and 69 per cent in the Gaza Strip).

Of those in employment, 33 per cent of those who work in the private sector receive less than the minimum wage of 1,450 shekels ($402) per month; 13 per cent in the West Bank and 80 per cent in  the besieged Gaza Strip.

About two-thirds of employed persons in Palestine are classified as informal employment, and about one quarter of private sector wage employees receive benefits