Palestine: What is the employment situation and the unemployment rate?

This increase is the result of the increase in the number of workers in the Gaza Strip by 1% compared to the first quarter of 2022 while this percentage decreased by around 0.6% for workers in the West Bank during the same period.

These figures remain below the estimated rate of population growth, which was 2.5% in 2020.

Payroll data is driven by employment in Israel, subject to permits from local authorities. 182,000 Palestinians were working in Israel or settlements in the second quarter of 2022, compared to 173,000 workers in the first quarter. The number of Gazan workers also increased after the Israeli announcement to grant 20,000 permits to work in Israel and the settlements. Economic observers also estimate that 36,000 Palestinians work in Israel and the settlements without permits.

The unemployment rate among labor force participants (15+) was around 24% in the second quarter of 2022, while total underemployment was around 32% by ILO standards. The disparity in the unemployment rate between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip remains significant, reaching 44% in the Gaza Strip compared to 14% in the West Bank.

The disparities are also strong in terms of gender, the unemployment rate for men in Palestine was 21% against 38% for women. According to the survey by the Palestinian Bureau of Statistics, the category of young people with an intermediate scientific qualification or higher suffers the most from unemployment.

Source : Embassy of France in Lebanon