Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS)

Issued a special press release for the students who sit for  the General Secondary School Certification Examinations "Tawjihi" of the academic year 2013/2014 .

Educational fields and labor market for individuals aged 20-29 years in 2013.

The international classification of education divides study disciplines into the following fields of education:

Basic programs, literacy and numeracy programs, personal development, teacher training and education, arts, humanities, social and behavioral sciences, journalism and information programs, business and administration, law, life sciences, physical sciences, mathematics and statistics, computing, engineering and engineering trades, manufacturing and processing, architecture and construction, agriculture, forestry and fishery programs, veterinary programs, health programs, social services, personal services, transportation, environmental protection and security services.

There are around 30 thousand graduates annually from Palestinian higher education institutions. In the 2013/2014 academic year, there were around 85 thousand applicants for the general matriculation exam.

The highest percentage of male graduates aged 20-29 years were in business and administration.

In 2013, around 84 thousand males aged 20-29 years obtained an intermediate diploma or bachelor’s degree. They were specialized in the following fields of education:

Business and administration (25.1%), health (13.0%), engineering and engineering trades (10.7%), social and behavioral sciences (8.9%), humanities (6.8%), and computing (6.2%).

In 2012, there were 79 thousand male graduates aged 20-29 years. The majority of them majored in business and administration (25.3%).

The majority of female graduates aged 20-29 years specialized in business and administration.

In 2013, there were 104 thousand female graduates aged 20-29 years with a bachelor’s degree or an intermediate diploma specialized in the following fields of education:

Business and administration (19.4%), teacher training and education (19.0%), humanities (18.1%), social and behavioral sciences (12.4%), and health (8.4%).  

In 2012, there were 97 thousand female graduates aged 20-29 years, the majority of them majoring in humanities (20.2%).

A rise in unemployment rate among graduates aged 20-29 years compared to the previous year.

In 2013 the unemployment rate rose to 51.5% among graduates aged 20-29 years with a bachelor’s degree or an intermediate diploma in Palestine (40.7% in West Bank and 64.9% in Gaza Strip). In 2012 the unemployment rate was 50.6%.

Unemployment rate of graduates aged 20-29 years.

In 2013 the highest rates of unemployment among graduates aged 20-29 years with a bachelor’s degree or an intermediate diploma in the Gaza Strip were in the following fields of education:

Life sciences (83.2%), teacher training and education (76.0%), humanities (73.1%) and social and behavioral sciences (68.8%).

The highest unemployment rates in the West Bank for the same age group by fields of education were as follows:

Life sciences (57.5%), teacher training and education (54.4%), humanities (49.8%), social and behavioral sciences (48.9%) and mathematics and statistics (47.7%).

Unemployment rate among male graduates aged 20-29 years.

In 2013 the highest unemployment rates among male graduates aged 20-29 years with an intermediate diploma or bachelor’s degree in Palestine were in the following fields of education:

Personal services (44.9%),  mathematics and statistics (44.6%), teacher training and education (38.2%), journalism and information (36.9%) and health (35.8%).

Unemployment rate of female graduates aged 20-29 years.

In 2013 the highest unemployment rates among female graduates aged 20-29 years with an intermediate diploma or bachelor’s degree were in the following fields of education:

Journalism and information (89.0%),  life sciences (82.4%), social and behavioral sciences (74.4%), humanities (73.9%) and teacher training and education science (70.9%).

Unemployment rate and period of unemployment in months for graduates (20-29) years with an intermediate diploma or bachelor’s degree by field of education in 2013