Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS)

 Working conditions of employed persons in the non-agricultural private sector 2012

 The highest productivity was in enterprises most committed to the rights of their employees.

In December 2012 there were 121 thousand non-agricultural economic enterprises with 377 thousand persons employed, about 43%[1] of the total number of persons employed in Palestine. The results indicated that 41% of all persons employed in the non-agricultural private sector were waged employees and 89% of them were male. In private sector enterprises there were 222,729 waged employees: of these 206,706 were permanent male employees (76%). There were 16,023 temporary employees in private sector enterprises of whom 87% were male and 13% female.

The internal trade sector had the highest percentage of unpaid employees, followed by services activities and industrial activities. In internal trade activities, 61% of the total number of persons employed were unpaid employments, followed by services activities (32%), industrial activities (28%), transport and storage activities (15%), information and communication activities (10%),  and 5% in construction activities.

Distribution of employed persons in Palestine by economic activity and nature of work,  December 2012

The compositional structure of the non-agricultural private sector shows that the majority of these enterprises (97%) are small enterprises.[2] Small enterprises employ 68% of all employed persons, while medium enterprises[3] (2%) employ 10% of all employed persons; large enterprises[4] (1%) employ about 22% of all employed persons. The results also show that 58% of employed persons in small enterprises are unpaid employments, and 2% are temporary employees; 98% of employed persons in large enterprises are waged employees and 2% are unpaid employments.

Distribution of employed persons in Palestine by size of enterprise and nature of work, December 2012

About one-third of waged employees in the private sector have work contracts: 44% of females and 31% of males. Employees with contracts are concentrated in the information and communications activity. The results of the economic survey series in 2012 showed that there were 75,881 waged employees with a work contract in the private sector, constituting about 34% of all waged employees. Further examination of waged employees by work contract and the economic activity in which they work, showed that 30% of male waged employees and 28% of female waged employees in industrial activities had a work contract; 68% of male waged employees and 61% of female waged employees in information and communications had a work contract; the Palestinian telecommunications company has greatest number of work contracts.

Percentage of waged employees and availability of work contracts in Palestine by economic activity and sex, December 2012

More than half of waged employees in large enterprises had a work contract; the number fell to below a third  in medium-sized enterprises and below  one quarter in small businesses.  The results showed that 16% of all male waged employees and 23% of female waged employees working in small enterprises had a work contract compared to 53% of male waged employees and 62% of female waged employees in large enterprises. 

Percentage of waged employees with a work contract in Palestine by size of enterprise and sex, December 2012

Around 53% of waged employees in large enterprises had annual paid vacation, compared with 35% in medium-sized enterprises and 23% in small enterprises. The results indicated that 22% of male waged employees and 26% of female waged employees get annual paid vacation in small enterprises, while 52% of male waged employees and 56% of female waged employees get annual paid vacation in large enterprises .

Percentage of waged employees who have annual paid vacation in the Palestinian private sector by size of enterprise, December 2012

Less than one-third of waged employees in the private sector have insurance against work injuries; the percentage varies by economic activity. The industry and construction sector has the highest work injury insurance for employees and these constitute nearly half of the recipients of injury insurance. The percentage is lower in less dangerous activities. The data indicated that 27% of waged employees in private sector enterprises had insurance against work injuries, while 73% work without any work injury insurance. The percentage of employees insured against injury in industrial activities was 39% for males and 50% for females. In the construction sector, which is the most dangerous, 47% of all waged male employees had insurance and 58% of female waged employees.  There figures were much lower in less risky sectors such as trade and internal transport, storage and services.

Percentage of waged employees who have work injury insurance in Palestine by economic activity and sex, December 2012

About 20% of waged permanent employees in the private sector participate in a pension fund. The percentage is low in all economic sectors, except the information and communications sector which totaled about 37%. The results showed that the 10% of male waged employees in small enterprises received a pension fund and 7% of female waged employees. There was an increase to about 35% of all waged employees (males) and 33% of waged employees (females) in large enterprises.

Percentage of waged employees with a pension fund in Palestine by economic activity and sex, December 2012

The productivity of waged employees varied by economic sector; highest average productivity was in the information and communications sector with USD 102,600. Waged employees in other economic sectors achieved relatively low productivity in comparison. The productivity of waged employees in internal trade was about USD 39,900, while the services sector had the lowest productivity of about USD 16,200.

  Average value added per waged employee in Palestine by main economic activity in 2012

         In thousands of USD

In comparing work conditions for waged employees in the private sector between 2010 and 2012, the results showed that the percentage of waged employees with a work contract in the private sector rose to 34% in 2012 compared with 32% in 2010. However, 36% of waged employees obtained annual paid vacation in 2012 compared to 37% in 2010. Also, the percentage of waged employees with insurance against injuries fell to 27% in 2012 compared to 32% in 2010. The percentage of waged employees in a pension fund fell to 20% in 2012 compared to 21% in 2010.

Percentage of waged employees with work benefits in enterprises in the Palestinian private sector by type of benefit, 2010, 2012.