The labour force participation rate of individuals aged 15 years and above was 45.4%
    
The number of individuals participating in the labour force in Palestine was 1,340,200 in the 1st quarter 2018; 820,900 in the West Bank and 519,300 in Gaza Strip.

The labour force participation rate in the West Bank was 44.9% and 46.2% in Gaza Strip, the gap in the participation rate between males and females in Palestine still very big where it reached 70.3% for males compared with 19.9% for females.

30.2% the unemployment rate among labour force participants

Using ILO standards, the number of unemployed was 404,800 in the 1st quarter 2018; distributed as 255,000 in Gaza Strip and 149,800 in the West Bank.

The unemployment rate in Gaza Strip was 49.1% compared with 18.3% in the West Bank in the 1st quarter 2018, And the unemployment rate for males in Palestine was 25.0% compared with 48.9% for females.

The highest unemployment rate in the  1st quarter 2018 was 49.6% among youth aged  20-24 years. For years of schooling, the highest unemployment rate among females with 13 years of schooling and more was 52.2%.

The number of the employment in the local market decreased between the 4th quarter 2017 and  1st  quarter 2018

The number of employed in the local market decreased from 845,600 in the 4th quarter 2017 to 811,500 in the 1st quarter 2018. The number of employed individuals in the West Bank decreased by 18,800 employed, also the number of employed individuals in Gaza Strip decreased by 15,300 employed in the same period.

The services sector was the biggest employer in the local market with 35.2% in the West Bank and 55.7% in Gaza Strip.

The public sector employed 22.4% of those in employment; 38.0% in Gaza Strip and 16.2% in the West Bank.

The average daily wage for wage employees in the West Bank was 106.4 NIS compared with 62.1 NIS in Gaza Strip in the 1st quarter 2018 .

The average weekly hours worked by wage employees in the West Bank was 44.2 hour in the 1st quarter 2018 and 44.1 hour in the 4th quarter 2017. The average number of days worked per month was 22.7 and 23.2 day in the 1st quarter 2018 and  4th quarter 2017.  The average number of hours worked per week in Gaza Strip was 36.3 and 37.4  hour per week in the 1st quarter 2018 and 4th quarter 2017, and the average number of days worked per month was 22.1 and 22.9 working day in 1st quarter 2018 and 4th quarter 2017 respectively.

Number of employed in Israel and Israeli settlements was 121,000 in the 1st quarter 2018
The number of employed individuals employed in Israel and Israeli settlements was 121,000 in the 1st quarter 2018 compared with 118,100 in the 4th quarter 2017. Of these; 64,300 had a permit, 42,400 worked without any permit and 14,300 employed individuals have an Israeli identity card or foreign passport.

The number of employees in the Israeli settlements decreased to 17,600 in the 1st quarter 2018 from 21,000 in the 4th quarter 2017.

65.0% 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 242.5 NIS in the 1st quarter 2018 compared with 232.0 NIS in the 4th  quarter 2017.

The average number of hours worked per week in Israel and the Israeli settlements reached 42.4 in the 1st quarter 2018 compared with 41.8 in the 4th quarter 2017. The average number of days worked per month reached 20.1 working day in the 1st quarter 2018 compared with 19.6 in the 4th  quarter 2017.


Employment Status in the 1st quarter 2018
70.7% of employed individuals are wage employees; 67.6% in the West Bank and 78.8% in Gaza Strip.

18.7% of employed individuals are self- employed; 20.0% in the West Bank and 15.3% in Gaza Strip.

3.9% of employed individuals are unpaid family members; 4.3% in the West Bank and 2.7% in Gaza Strip.

6.7% of employed individuals are employers; 8.1% in the West Bank and 3.2% in Gaza Strip.


Working benefits for wage employees in the private sector
27.1% of wage employees are hired by contract (8.6% of them with limited period and 18.5% with unlimited period), compared with 51.4% hired without any contract, and 21.5% of wage employees are hired by verbal agreement.
24.5% of wage employees contribute to a pension fund, 24.0% have annual paid leave and 41.1% of wage employees women have paid maternity leave.

19.2% of employed individuals in Palestine are affiliated to a workers vocational union; 13.8% in the West Bank and 33.0% in Gaza Strip.


35.8% of wage employees in the private sector received less than the minimum wage (1,450 NIS) in Palestine.

In the West Bank 15.5% of wage employees in the private sector received less than minimum monthly wage, about 36,300 wage employees with average monthly wage 1,074 NIS.

In Gaza Strip the percentage of wage employees in the private sector who received less than the minimum monthly wage was 80.1% about 86,300 wage employees with average monthly wage 693 NIS.

Child Labour
2.7% of children aged 10-17 years in Palestine  are employed; 3.7% in the West Bank and 1.2%  in Gaza Strip.