Unemployment Rate in Gaza Strip is Three Times Higher than in the West Bank
(Revised ILO Standards ICLS 19th)
25% is the unemployment rate among labour force participants in Palestine, total labour underutilization stands at 32%.

Using the latest Revised ILO standards ICLS 19th, the number of unemployed was 334,100 in the 3rd quarter of 2019, distributed as 217,100 in Gaza Strip and 117,000 in the West Bank. The unemployment rate in Gaza Strip was 45% compared with 13% in the West Bank, while the unemployment rate for males in Palestine was 20% compared with 42% for females.

Total labour underutilization was 481,100 person including 74,100 discouraged jobseekers and 19,800 in time-related underemployment.

A large gap in the labour force participation rate between males and females

About 7 out of 10 males participated in the labor force, compared with About 2 out of 10 females.

Females participation in the labour force was 18% in Gaza Strip compared with 17% in the West Bank.

The number of the employed in the local market increased between the 2nd  quarter and the 3rd  quarter 2019

The number of the employed in the local market increased from 865 thousand in the 2nd  quarter 2019 to 881 thousand in the 3rd  quarter 2019, which increased in Gaza Strip by 5.4%, and also in the West Bank increased by 0.5%, for the same period.

The services sector and other branches was the biggest employer in the local market, where the percentage of employment was more than one third of the employed in the West Bank compared with more than the half in Gaza Strip.

The average weekly hours worked by wage employees in the West Bank was 45.1 hours compared with 37.4 hours in Gaza Strip. And the average number of days worked per month was 22.9 days in West Bank and 22.8 days in Gaza Strip.

The number of employed individuals in Israel and Israeli settlements increased by about 10,000 between the 2nd quarter and the 3rd quarter 2019

The number of employed individuals in Israel and Israeli settlements was about 141 thousand in the 3rd  quarter 2019, and the largest share of those  who had a permit as it reached 72%, and 22% for who worked without any permit, while the percentage of who had an Israeli identity card or foreign passport was about 6%.

The number of employed individuals in Israeli settlements was about 22 thousand in the 2nd 2019 and 3rd quarter 2019.

The construction sector recorded the highest employment rate in Israel and Israeli settlements, which was 65% of the total Palestinian employment in Israel and Israeli settlements.

The average daily wage for the wage employees in Israel and Israeli settlements increased between the 2nd quarter 2019 and the 3rd quarter 2019 from 254 NIS to 261 NIS respectively.

About 7 out of 10 employed individuals were wage employees
71% of employed individuals were wage employees, 25% were self-employed and employers, while 4% were unpaid family members.

About half of the wage employees in the private sector were hired without any contract.
46% of wage employees in the private sector were hired without any contract, and 32% of wage employees contributed to a pension fund. In contrast, more than half of wage female employees (52%) got a paid maternity leave.

30% of wage employees in the private sector received less than the minimum wage (1,450 NIS) in Palestine
The percentage of wage employees in the private sector who received less than the minimum wage in the West Bank decreased from about 10% in the 2nd  quarter 2019 to about 8% in the 3rd quarter 2019, while the percentage in Gaza Strip increased from 79% to 87% during the same period.

Despite the low rate in Gaza Strip compared with last years the gap in the monthly wage rate remained high; 674 NIS in Gaza Strip compared with 1,017 NIS in the West Bank.

Child labour Rate in the West Bank was higher than in the Gaza Strip
3% of children aged (10-17 years) were employed (4% in the West Bank and 2% in Gaza Strip).