Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS)

                                                   

Press Release on the Results of the Labour Force Survey in Palestine, 2016.

 

 

The labour force participation rate of individuals aged 15 years and above was 45.8%

 

The number of individuals participating in the labour force in Palestine was 1,341,000 in 2016; 844,600 in the West Bank and 496,400 in Gaza Strip.

 

The labour force participation rate in the West Bank was 45.6% and 46.1% in Gaza Strip, the gap in the participation rate between males and females in Palestine still very big where it reached 71.6% for males compared with 19.3% for females.

 

26.9% the unemployment rate among labour force participants

 

Using ILO standards, the number of unemployed was 360,500 in 2016; distributed as 206,800 in Gaza Strip and 153,700 in the West Bank.

 

Increased unemployment rate among labour force participants from 25.9% in 2015 to 26.9% in 2016.

 

The unemployment rate in Gaza Strip was 41.7% compared with 18.2% in the West Bank in 2016, And the unemployment rate for males in Palestine was 22.2% compared with 44.7% for females in 2016.

 

The highest unemployment rate in 2016 was 43.2% among youth aged  20-24 years. For years of schooling, the highest unemployment rate among females with 13 years of schooling and more was 50.6%.

 

The number of the employment in the local market increased between 2016 and 2015

The number of employed in the local market increased from 846,200 in 2015 to 861,200 in 2016. The number of employed individuals in the West Bank increased by 2,400 employed, and the number of employed individuals in Gaza Strip increased by 12,600 employed person.

 

The services sector was the biggest employer in the local market with 33.2% in the West Bank and 53.8% in Gaza Strip.

 

The public sector employed 21.6% of those in employment; 36.4% in Gaza Strip and 15.4% in the West Bank.

 

The average daily wage for wage employees in the West Bank was 98.1 NIS compared with 61.7 NIS in Gaza Strip.

 

The average weekly hours worked by wage employees in the West Bank was 44.3 hour in 2016 and 43.9 hour in 2015. The average number of days worked per month was 22.8 and 22.4 day in 2016 and  2015.  The average number of hours worked per week in Gaza Strip was 38.3 and 37.1  hours per week in 2016 and  2015, and the average number of days worked per month was 22.7 and 22.9 working day in 2016 and 2015.

 

Number of employed in Israel and Israeli settlements was 116,900 in 2016

The number of employed individuals employed in Israel and Israeli settlements was 116,800 in 2016 compared with 112,300 in 2015. Of these; 61,300 had a permit, 42,000 worked without any permit and 13,600 employed individuals have an Israeli identity card or foreign passport.

 

The number of employees in the Israeli settlements decreased from 22,400 in 2015 to 20,800 in 2016.

 

63.8% of employed in Israel and the Israeli settlements worked in the construction sector.

 

The average daily wage for the wage employees in Israel and the Israeli settlements reached 218.0 NIS in 2016 compared with 198.9 NIS in 2015.

 

 

The average number of hours worked per week in Israel and the Israeli settlements reached 40.2 in 2016 compared with 40.4 in the 2015. The average number of days worked per month reached 19.6 working day 2016 compared with 19.1 in 2015.

 

 

Employment Status in 2016

69.5% of employed individuals are wage employees; 65.6% in the West Bank and 78.7% in Gaza Strip.

 

18.6% of employed individuals are self- employed; 20.5% in the West Bank and 14.0% in Gaza Strip.

 

5.5% of employed individuals are unpaid family members; 6.2% in the West Bank and 3.8% in Gaza Strip.

 

6.4% of employed individuals are employers; 7.7% in the West Bank and 3.5% in Gaza Strip.

 

 

Working benefits for wage employees in the private sector

26.2% of wage employees are hired by contract (9.7% of them with limited period and 16.5% with unlimited period), compared with 52.8% hired without any contract, and 21.0% of wage employees are hired by verbal agreement.

 

22.4% of wage employees contribute to a pension fund, 22.6% have annual paid leave and 37.5% of wage employees women have paid maternity leave.

 

18.8% of employed individuals in Palestine are affiliated to a workers vocational union; 13.1% in the West Bank and 32.4% in Gaza Strip.

 

 

35.6% of wage employees in the private sector received less than the minimum wage (1,450 NIS) in Palestine.

 

In the West Bank about 17.4% of wage employees in the private sector received less than minimum monthly wage, about 38,600 wage employees with average monthly wage 1,068 NIS.

 

In Gaza Strip the percentage of wage employees in the private sector who received less than the minimum monthly wage was 69.2% about 83,500 wage employees with average monthly wage 748 NIS.

 

Child Labour

3.9% of children aged 10-17 years in Palestine  are employed; 5.3% in the West Bank and 1.9%  in Gaza Strip.