Press Release on Labour Force Survey Results
(October – December, 2002) Round
314,000 Unemployed persons during the 4^th quarter 2002

This report is based on the Labour Force quarterly Survey. Data was collected for the 27^th round from 05/10/2002 to 04/01/2003, representing the fourth quarter of 2002.

The survey sample of this round is based on the 1997 census, 7,559 households were selected to represent the Palestinian society of which 6,485 households were completed.

Economically Active:

According to the ILO standards, the number of participants in labour force increased by 7 thousand persons between the 3^rd quarter 2000 and the 4^thquarter 2002. Where it increased from 735 thousand in the 3^rd quarter 2000 to 742 thousand in the 4^th quarter 2002, compared with 703 thousand in the 3^rd quarter 2002.
Number of persons who do not work and do not seek job for being discouraged increased by 20.4% between the 3^rdquarter 2000 and the 4^th quarter 2002; (19 thousand persons). They were 93 thousand in the 3^rd quarter 2000, increased to 112 thousand in the 4^th quarter 2002, compared with 119 thousand in the 3^rd quarter 2002.

Unemployed Persons:

Number of persons who don't work nevertheless seeking or not seeking job, increased from 170 thousand in the 3rd quarter 2000 to 314 thousand in the 4^th quarter 2002, compared with 370 thousand in the 3^rd quarter 2002. This represents 36.8% of the total labour force, according to the relaxed definition of unemployment.

While those who don't work, but seeking job, in the 4th quarter 2002 reached 202 thousand which represent 27.3% of the total labour force according to the ILO standards, compared with 35.6% in the 3rd quarter 2002 and 10.0% in the 3rd quarter 2000 (before the beginning of Al-Aqsa Intifada).

Employed Persons:

The percentage of those working in services and other branches decreased from 37.4% in the 3^rd quarter 2002 to 33.1% in the 4^th quarter 2002 while it was 28.6% in the 3^rd quarter 2000). The results showed an increase in the percentage of those working in services and other branches[1] in Gaza Strip, (38.0% in the 3^rd quarter 2000 to 43.2% in the 4^th quarter 2002), also it increased in the West Bank from 24.6% in the 3^rd quarter 2000 to 28.7% in the 4^th quarter 2002.
Employment in construction [2] dropped sharply in Gaza Strip from 15.9% in the 3^rd quarter 2000 to 5.2% in the 3^rd quarter 2002, then increased in the 4^th quarter 2002 to 10.9%. Whereas it decreased in the West Bank from 24.2% in the 3^rd quarter 2000 to 13.5% in the 4^th quarter 2002, while the percentage was 12.9% in the 3^rd quarter 2002.

The results showed a decrease in the percentage of wage employees in the West Bank (60.1% in the 3^rd quarter 2002 to 54.8% in the 4^th quarter 2002 compared with 66.2% in the 3^rd quarter 2000). Also, in Gaza Strip, it decreased from 67.4% in 3^rd quarter 2002 to reach 65.5% in the 4^th quarter 2002 compared with 71.0% in the 3^rd quarter 2000.

Working Hours:

Before the beginning of Alaqsa intifada and during the school time working hours for all employed persons was 9.1 million working hours per month (2nd quarter 2000), working hours increased in the Summer holiday (3rd quarter 2000) to reach 9.3 million. While it decreased to 6.2 million in the 4th quarter 2000 (1st quarter of Al-Aqsa intifada), then increased slightly in the 1st quarter 2002 to reached 6.6 million per month, and increased to 7.2 million working hours in the 4th quarter 2002. That is to say; the monthly working hours decreased by 22.6%.

Wages:

The average value of the nominal daily net wage of the employees in Gaza Strip increased from 50.4 NIS in the 3rd quarter of 2000 to 54.7 NIS in the 4th quarter 2002, compared with 57.8 NIS in the 3rd quarter 2002. The Average daily net wage for those working in Israel and settlements increased 110.8 NIS in the 3rd quarter 2000 to 120.2 NIS in the 4th quarter 2002, while it was 120.0 NIS in the 3rd quarter 2002.

Dependency Ratio and Poverty:

The economic dependency ratio[3] increased in the Palestinian Territory from 4.8 in the 3rd quarter 2000 to 6.5 in the 4th quarter 2002 (the change rate is 35.4%). Whereas, it increased in the West Bank from 4.3 to 5.9 (the change rate is 37.2%) and in Gaza Strip increased from 6.0 to 8.2 (the change rate is 36.7%). The ratio in the West Bank reached 6.5 compared with 11.2 in Gaza Strip in the 3rd quarter 2002.
The percentage of employees whose monthly wages below poverty line equivalent for the year 2001 (1642 NIS, for household composed of two adults and 4 children) increased from 43.5% in the 3rd quarter 2000 to 50.2% in the 4th quarter 2002 (the change rate is 15.4%).

[1] Workers in Israel and Settlements are not included.

[2] Workers in Israel and Settlements are excluded.

[3] The economic dependency ratio: Number of population divided by Number of employed persons.

Main Findings
According to the Relaxed Definition of Unemployment
(October - December, 2002) Round

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The Distribution of Persons Aged 15 Years and Over in the Palestinian Territory by Labour Force Components and Region (Relaxed Definition) is as follows:

Region	Labour Force		Outside Labour Force		Total
Region	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
West Bank	590,000	47.4	654,000	52.6	1,244,000	100
Gaza Strip	264,000	40.6	386,000	59.4	650,000	100
Palestinian Territory	854,000	45.1	1,040,000	54.9	1,894,000	100

The Distribution of Labour Force Participants Aged 15 Years and Over in the Palestinian Territory by Labour Force Components and Region (Relaxed Definition) is as follows:

Region	Employment		Unemployment		Total
Region	Number	(%)	Number	(%)	Number	(%)
West Bank	383,000	64.9	207,000	35.1	590,000	100
Gaza Strip	157,000	59.5	107,000	40.5	264,000	100
Palestinian Territory	540,000	63.2	314,000	36.8	854,000	100

Main Findings: According to the ILO Standards

(October - December, 2002) Round

3-1 Population aged 15 years and over

The percentage of the population aged 15 years and over is 53.7% at the 4^th Quarter of 2002.

The Distribution of Persons Aged 15 Years and Over in the Palestinian Territory by Labour Force Components and Region (ILO Standards) is as follows:

Region	Labour Force		Outside Labour Force		Total
Region	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
West Bank	524,000	42.1	720,000	57.9	1,244,000	100
Gaza Strip	218,000	33.6	432,000	66.4	650,000	100
Palestinian Territory	742,000	39.2	1,152,000	60.8	1,894,000	100

3-2 Labour Force (According to the ILO Standards):

The labour force participation rate reached 39.2% in the Palestinian Territory, 42.1% in the West Bank and 33.6% in Gaza Strip.

The Distribution of Labour Force Participants Aged 15 Years and Over in the Palestinian Territory by Labour Force Components and Region (ILO Standards) is as follows (%):

Region	Full Employment	Under Employment	Unemployment	Total
West Bank	65.6	7.4	27.0	100
Gaza Strip	70.8	1.2	28.0	100
Palestinian Territory	67.1	5.6	27.3	100

3-3 Employment (According to the ILO Standards):

Employed Persons Aged 15 Years and Over in the Palestinian Territory are Distributed by Employment Status (ILO Standards) as follows (%):

Employment Status	West Bank	Gaza Strip	Palestinian Territory
Employer	4.4	2.0	3.7
Self Employed	27.8	25.2	27.0
Wage Employee	54.8	65.5	57.9
Unpaid Family Member	13.0	7.3	11.4
Total	100	100	100

Employed Persons Aged 15 Years and Over in the Palestinian Territory are Distributed by Economic Activity and Place of work (ILO Standards) as Follows (%):

Economic Activity	West Bank	Gaza Strip	Israel and Settlements	Total
Agriculture, fishing and forestry	20.2	15.1	8.7	17.6
Mining, quarrying and manufacturing	13.3	9.0	17.2	12.5
Construction	8.8	8.7	46.5	12.7
Commerce, restaurants and hotels	19.8	17.1	15.4	18.6
Transportation, storage and communication	6.2	4.7	3.6	5.5
Services and other branches	31.6	45.4	8.6	33.1
Total	100	100	100	100

Employed Persons Aged 15 Years and Over in the Palestinian Territory are Distributed by Place of Work and Region (ILO Standards) as follows (%):

Place of Work

West Bank

Gaza Strip
Total

Number

(1000)

(%)

Number

(1000)

(%)

Number

(1000)

(%)

Palestinian Territory

334

87.2

150

95.4

484

89.6

Israel and Settlements (Persons who have Palestinian Identity)

24

6.3

7

4.6

31

5.8

Israel and Settlements (Persons who have Israeli Identity or foreign passport)

25

6.5

-

-

25

4.6

Total

383

100

157

100

540

100

Note: (-) means there are no enough observations in this section.

Work days, hours and wages

The average weekly work hours average monthly workdays and average daily wage per employee aged 15 years and over according to Place of Work are as follows:

Indicator	West Bank		Gaza Strip	Israel and Settlements
Average weekly work hours		41.1	38.9	45.3
Average monthly work days*		23.2	23.8	21.6
Median daily net wage in NIS		60.0	50.0	120.0
Average daily net wage in NIS		72.3	54.7	120.2

*: Including paid days that have been not worked

Unemployment (According to the ILO Standards):

Unemployment rate for persons aged 15 years and over in the Palestinian Territory reached 27.3%; 27.0% in the West Bank and 28.0% in Gaza Strip.

Unemployment Rate for Persons Aged 15 Years and Over in the Palestinian Territory by Age and Sex (ILO Standards) (%):

Age	Males	Females	Total
15-19	43.4	5.5	40.9
20-24	37.5	39.7	37.9
25-29	29.2	19.0	27.5
30-34	28.2	11.5	25.9
35-39	26.8	4.9	23.8
40-44	24.6	7.3	21.9
45-49	25.5	8.6	22.8
50+	21.2	2.6	18.4
Overall Average	29.4	15.3	27.3

Unemployment Rate for Persons Aged 15 Years and Over in the Palestinian Territory by Age and Region (ILO Standards) (%):

Age	West Bank	Gaza Strip	Total
15-19	40.9	40.8	40.9
20-24	37.7	38.3	37.9
25-29	28.2	25.9	27.5
30-34	25.6	26.4	25.9
35-39	23.1	25.4	23.8
40-44	20.9	24.2	21.9
45-49	22.2	24.3	22.8
50+	16.3	23.6	18.4
Overall Average	27.0	28.0	27.3

Unemployment Rate for Persons Aged 15 Years and Over in the Palestinian Territory by Years of Schooling and Sex (ILO Standards) (%):

Years of Schooling	Males	Females	Total
0	27.9	3.9	16.3
1-6	35.2	4.3	31.4
7-9	33.0	5.2	31.0
10-12	31.4	14.7	29.9
13+	16.4	23.7	18.4
Overall Average	29.4	15.3	27.3

Unemployment Rate for Persons Aged 15 Years and Over in the Palestinian Territory by Years of Schooling and Region (ILO Standards) (%):

Years of schooling	West Bank	Gaza Strip	Total
0	14.3	24.3	16.3
1-6	29.5	35.2	31.4
7-9	30.6	32.1	31.0
10-12	30.7	28.0	29.9
13+	18.1	19.2	18.4
Overall Average	27.0	28.0	27.3

3-5 Persons outside the labour force (ILO Standards):

The percentage of persons aged 15 years and over outside the labour force in the Palestinian Territory reached 60.8%; 57.9% in the West Bank and 66.4% in Gaza Strip.

Persons Aged 15 Years and Over Outside the Labour Force in the Palestinian Territory are Distributed by Reason and Region (ILO Standards) as follows (%):

Reason	West Bank	Gaza Strip	Palestinian Territory
Old/illness	9.3	7.0	8.4
Housekeeping	52.1	50.9	51.7
Studying or training	29.5	31.4	30.2
Others	9.1	10.7	9.7
Total	100	100	100

3-6 Labour Force Status: Further details (ILO Standards):

Persons aged (15 years and over) are distributed according to ILO standards of labour force by sex, region and labour force status as follows:

Region and Sex	Full Employment (%)	Under Employment (%)	Unemployed (%)	Total (%)	Labour Force (%)	Outside Labour Force (%)
West Bank
Males	62.0	8.3	29.7	100	69.1	30.9
Females	82.4	3.6	14.0	100	14.8	85.2
Total	65.6	7.4	27.0	100	42.1	57.9
Gaza Strip
Males	70.3	1.2	28.5	100	61.4	38.6
Females	77.3	1.0	21.7	100	5.5	94.5
Total	70.8	1.2	28.0	100	33.6	66.4

3-7 Children 10-14 years (According to the ILO Standards):

The Distribution of Children 10-14 Years in the Palestinian Territory by Labour Force Components and Region (ILO Standards) is as follows (%):

Region	Labour Force		Outside Labour Force		Total
Region	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
West Bank	3,130	1.1	276,703	98.9	279,833	100
Gaza Strip	732	0.4	176,919	99.6	177,651	100
Palestinian Territory	3,862	0.8	453,622	99.2	457,484	100

Population 15 Years and Over by Region and Labor Force Status

October- December, 2002 (ILO Standards):

Labour Force Status	West Bank (%)	Gaza Strip (%)	Palestinian Territory (%)
Both Sexes
Population aged 15 years and over ( Man Power)	55.5	50.5	53.7
Full Employment (working full time:35 hours and above)	27.6	23.8	26.3
Working less than usual (Lack of employment)	1.3	0.3	0.9
Working poor conditions or for insufficient income	1.9	0.1	1.3
Did not work and seeking job	11.4	9.4	10.7
Did not work and did not seek job due to discouragement	5.3	7.1	5.9
Did not work – Old or illness	5.4	4.6	5.1
Did not work – Home duties	30.1	33.8	31.4
Did not work – Students	17.0	20.9	18.4
Population less than 15 years	44.5	49.5	46.3
Total Population	100	100	100
Males
Population aged 15 years and over ( Man Power)	55.3	50.3	53.5
Full Employment (working full time:35 hours and above)	42.8	43.	42.9
Working less than usual (Lack of employment)	2.4	0.6	1.8
Working poor conditions or for insufficient income	3.3	0.1	2.2
Did not work and seeking job	20.5	17.6	19.5
Did not work and did not seek job due to discouragement	8.9	12.2	10.0
Did not work – Old or illness	5.6	4.1	5.1
Did not work – Home duties	0.5	0.4	0.5
Did not work – Students	16.0	21.9	18.0
Population less than 15 years	44.7	49.7	46.5
Total Population	100	100	100

The following table presents the estimated absolute number of population in the working age by activity status.

Population 15 Years and Over by Region and Labour Force Status

October- December, 2002 (ILO Standards):

Labour Force Status	West Bank #	Gaza Strip #	Palestinian Territory #
Both Sexes
Population aged 15 years and over ( Man Power)	1,244,000	650,000	1,894,000
Full Employment (working full time:35 hours and above)	344,000	155,000	499,000
Working less than usual (Lack of employment)	16,000	2,000	18,000
Working poor conditions or for insufficient income	23,000	-	23,000
Did not work and seeking job	141,000	61,000	202,000
Did not work and did not seek job due to discouragement	66,000	46,000	112,000
Did not work – Old or illness	67,000	30,000	97,000
Did not work – Home duties	375,000	220,000	595,000
Did not work – Students	212,000	136,000	348,000
Population less than 15 years	997,000	637,000	1,634,000
Total Population	2,241,000	1,287,000	3,528,000
Males
Population aged 15 years and over ( Man Power)	627,000	326,000	953,000
Full Employment (working full time:35 hours and above)	268,000	141,000	409,000
Working less than usual (Lack of employment)	15,000	2,000	17,000
Working poor conditions or for insufficient income	21,000	-	21,000
Did not work and seeking job	129,000	57,000	186,000
Did not work and did not seek job due to discouragement	56,000	40,000	96,000
Did not work – Old or illness	35,000	13,000	48,000
Did not work – Home duties	3,000	2,000	5,000
Did not work – Students	100,000	71,000	171,000
Population less than 15 years	507,000	323,000	830,000
Total Population	1,134,000	649,000	1,783,000

Note: (-) means there are no enough observations in this section.