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 2019/2020 .

Educational fields and labor market among individuals aged (20-29 years) in 2019.

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has affected the educational systems throughout the world, leading to the widespread closure of schools and universities. On March 16^th 2020, governments in 73 countries announced the closure of schools, including 56 countries that closed schools across the world and 17 countries closed schools within a specified range. The closure of schools affected more than 421 million students globally, while the limited-scale closure of schools put 577 million students at risk. According to data released by UNESCO on March 10^th 2020, the closure of schools and universities due to the spread of the COVID-19 virus has left one in five students out of school globally.

The educational process in Palestine faced many challenges over the years because of the Israeli occupation, and almost always possessed the ability and the will to continue in various forms. This has given it the ability to face the impact of the closure of educational institutions for a period of three months due to the spread of the Coronavirus, especially with the advancement of communication methods and modern technologies in education.

In the 2019/2020 scholastic year, there were around 78 thousand applicants for the General Certificate Exam. Approximately 40 thousand students graduate annually from the Palestinian higher education institutions. The local market accommodates 8 thousand job opportunities for graduates (20-29 years).

Business and Administration is the field where most students aged (20-29 years) were enrolled, whether for intermediate diploma or a bachelor’s degree (BA).

In 2019, individuals aged (20-29 years) obtained an intermediate diploma or bachelor’s degree specialized in the following fields of education:

Business and administration (28%), teacher training and education sciences (16%), health (11%), social and behavioral sciences (8%), humanities (8%) and other fields (29%), while the majority of them also majored in business and administration compared to the past decade.

Percentage Distribution among Individuals (20-29 years) in Palestine

with an Intermediate Diploma or Bachelor’s Degree by Field of Education and Sex in 2019

Unemployment rate among individuals aged (20-29 years) with an intermediate diploma or bachelor's degree is still high

The unemployment rate among individuals aged (20-29 years) with an intermediate diploma or bachelor’s degree in Palestine is still high in 2019 with a slight decrease compared to this rate in 2018. This rate reached 53% in 2019: 35% in West Bank and 72% in Gaza Strip, while it was about 55% in 2018 in Palestine.

The highest unemployment rate among males and  females aged (20-29 years) with an intermediate diploma or bachelor's degree was in journalism and information; 86% among females and 60% among males.

In 2019, 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:

Journalism and information (60%), teacher training and education sciences (49%), humanities (44%), architecture and construction (43%) and social and behavioral sciences (40%).

In 2019, 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 (86%), teacher training and education sciences (78%), social and behavioral sciences (75%), humanities (74%) and architecture and construction (69%).

Unemployment Rate among Individuals (20-29 years) in Palestine

with an Intermediate Diploma or Bachelor’s Degree by Field of Education and Sex, 2019

Clear gap of unemployment rates between West Bank and Gaza Strip for all fields of education

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

Personal services[1] (89%), humanities (81%), social and behavioral sciences (80%), journalism and information (80%) and teacher training and education sciences (79%).

The highest unemployment rates in the West Bank in 2019 for the same age group by fields of education were as follows

:Teacher training and education science (57%), social and behavioral sciences (50%), mathematics and statistics (45%), humanities (45%) and life sciences (44%).

Unemployment Rate among Individuals (20-29 years) in Palestine

with an Intermediate Diploma or Bachelor’s Degree by Field of Education and

Region, 2019

It takes graduates about  10-23 months before getting their first labor chance

In 2019, the highest period of unemployment for graduates aged (20-29 years) in Palestine with an intermediate diploma or bachelor’s degree was in the journalism and information field, being  23 months. The lowest period was in mathematics and statistics field and engineering and engineering trades with 10 months.

Period of Unemployment in Months among Individuals (20-29 years) in Palestine with

 an Intermediate Diploma or Bachelor’s Degree by Field of Education and Sex, 2019