The labour force participation rate of individuals aged 15 years and above was 46.5%

The number of individuals participating in the labour force in Palestine was 1,413,000 in the 3rd quarter 2017; 890,200 in the West Bank and 522,800 in Gaza Strip.

The labour force participation rate in the West Bank was 46.5% and 46.7% in Gaza Strip, the gap in the participation rate between males and females in Palestine still very big where it reached 73.2% for males compared with 19.2% for females.

29.2% the unemployment rate among labour force participants

Using ILO standards, the number of unemployed was 412,800 in the 3rd quarter 2017; distributed as 243,800 in Gaza Strip and 169,000 in the West Bank.

The unemployment rate in Gaza Strip was 46.6% compared with 19.0% in the West Bank in the 3rd quarter 2017, And the unemployment rate for males in Palestine was 23.9% compared with 50.0% for females.

The highest unemployment rate in the 3rd quarter 2017 was 46.9% among youth aged  20-24 years. For years of schooling, the highest unemployment rate among females with 13 years of schooling and more was 58.1%.

The number of the employment in the local market increased between the 2nd quarter and 3rd quarter 2017

The number of employed in the local market increased from 838,700 in the 2nd quarter 2017 to 868,000 in the 3rd quarter 2017. The number of employed individuals in Gaza Strip increased by 2,200 employed, also the number of employed persons in the West Bank increased by 27,100 employed.

The services sector was the biggest employer in the local market with 31.0% in the West Bank and 51.8% in Gaza Strip.

The public sector employed 20.8% of those in employment; 35.9% in Gaza Strip and 14.9% in the West Bank.

The average daily wage for wage employees in the West Bank was 98.8 NIS compared with 56.7 NIS in Gaza Strip.

The average weekly hours worked by wage employees in the West Bank was 44.4 hour in the 3rd quarter 2017 and 43.8 hour in the  2nd quarter 2017. The average number of days worked per month was 23.1 and 23.0 working day in the 3rd quarter 2017 and 2nd quarter 2017.  The average number of hours worked per week in Gaza Strip was 38.3 and 37.1 hour per week in the 3rd quarter 2017 and 2nd quarter 2017, and the average number of days worked per month was 23.0 and 22.8 working day in the 3rd quarter 2017 and 2nd quarter 2017 respectively.

Number of employed in Israel and Israeli settlements was 128,700 in the 3rd quarter 2017

The number of employed in Israel and Israeli settlements was 128,700 in the 3rd quarter 2017 compared with 128,400 in the 2nd quarter 2017. Of these; 69,700 had a permit, 43,500 worked without any permit and 15,500 had an Israeli identity card or foreign passport.

The number of employees in the Israeli settlements increased to 23,400 in the 3rd  quarter 2017 from 18,300 in the 2nd quarter 2017.

63.3% 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 233.3 NIS in the 3rd quarter 2017 compared with 222.6 NIS in the 2nd  quarter 2017.

The average number of hours worked per week in Israel and the Israeli settlements reached 41.9 hour in the 3rd quarter 2017 compared with 40.3 hour in the 2nd  quarter 2017.

The average number of days worked per month reached 20.2 working day in the  3rd quarter 2017 compared with 18.4 working day in the 2nd  quarter 2017.

Employment Status in the 3rd quarter 2017

69.8% of employed individuals are wage employees; 66.9% in the West Bank and 77.3% in Gaza Strip.

18.7% of employed individuals are self- employed; 19.9% in the West Bank and 15.5% in Gaza Strip.

4.8% of employed individuals are unpaid family members; 5.4% in the West Bank and 3.5% in Gaza Strip.

6.7% of employed individuals are employers; 7.8% in the West Bank and 3.7% in Gaza Strip.

Working benefits for wage employees in the private sector
23.1% of wage employees are hired by contract (8.1% of them with limited period and 15.0% with unlimited period), compared with 53.6% hired without any contract, and 23.3% of wage employees are hired by verbal agreement.
21.4% of wage employees contribute to a pension fund, 21.0% have annual paid leave and 34.2% of wage employees women have paid maternity leave.

18.2% of employed individuals in Palestine are affiliated to a workers vocational union; 13.4% in the West Bank and 28.9% in Gaza Strip.

35.5% of wage employees in the private sector received less than the minimum wage (1,450 NIS) in Palestine.

In the West Bank 17.1% of wage employees in the private sector received less than minimum monthly wage, about 40,600 wage employees with average monthly wage 1,097 NIS.

In Gaza Strip the percentage of wage employees in the private sector who received less than the minimum monthly wage was 73.2% about 85,300 wage employees with average monthly wage 717 NIS.

Child Labour
4.0% of children aged 10-17 years in Palestine  are employed; 5.3% in the West Bank and 2.1%  in Gaza Strip.




Data collection of labour force survey  was funded by the European Union.