The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics said that the results of the labor force survey in the Gaza Strip for the fourth quarter of 2024 showed that unemployment rates rose to approximately 68%, compared to approximately 45% in the third quarter of 2023.

The results of this survey also indicated a decline in the labor force participation rate, reaching approximately 30% compared to 40% in the third quarter of 2023, i.e. before October 7, 2023. The results also showed that the youth category (15-29 years) was greatly affected, as approximately three-quarters of young people (74%) are no longer in education, training, and the labor market.

The Central Bureau of Statistics added in a statement issued on Wednesday, on the occasion of Labor Day, that this impact was not limited to the Gaza Strip, but was also reflected in the West Bank, albeit to a lesser extent. There was a significant impact of the Israeli occupation’s aggression on the Gaza Strip, and the repercussions that followed in the West Bank, represented by tightening the noose on the governorates of the West Bank, cutting off communication between them, and preventing workers from reaching work within the 1948 territories. All of these reasons and others led to the paralysis of economic activity, which had a direct impact on the characteristics of the labor force in the West Bank.

He pointed out that the number of unemployed people in the West Bank rose to 313,000 in 2024, compared to about 183,000 in 2023. Unemployment rates among individuals participating in the labor force in the West Bank also rose in 2024 to about 31% compared to about 18% in 2023. At the gender level, the unemployment rate for males in the West Bank reached 31.7% compared to 30.1% for females in 2024.

The number of workers from the West Bank will decrease by about 132,000 between 2023 and 2024.

The statistics agency said that the number of workers (not including workers abroad) decreased from approximately 815,000 workers in 2023 to approximately 681,000 workers in 2024, a decrease of 20%.

The number of workers from the West Bank within the 1948 territories also declined significantly between 2023 and 2024, by approximately 85,000 workers, as a result of the strict closures imposed by the occupation following the aggression on the Gaza Strip. The total number of workers reached approximately 21,000 workers in 2024, compared to approximately 107,000 workers in 2023. The number of workers in the settlements also declined from approximately 16,000 workers in 2023 to 15,000 workers in 2024.

The number of workers in the local market in the West Bank will decrease between 2023 and 2024.

The number of workers in the local market in the West Bank decreased from 685,000 workers in 2023 to approximately 650,000 workers in 2024, representing a 5% decrease.

The results showed that the decline in the number of workers in the local market in the West Bank was due to a decline in the number of workers in the construction sector, followed by other services, then trade, restaurants and hotels, and finally mining and manufacturing.

The private sector is the largest employer.

The number of workers from the West Bank reached approximately 681 thousand workers, with 650 thousand workers in the West Bank and 31 thousand workers working inside the 1948 territories and the settlements, of whom approximately 447 thousand were paid employees (416 thousand employees working in the West Bank, 16 thousand working inside the 1948 territories, and 15 thousand working in the settlements).

Approximately 65% of all wage earners in the West Bank work in the private sector, compared to approximately 28% working in the government sector, and approximately 7% working in Israel and the settlements in 2024.

More than a quarter of private sector wage earners in the West Bank work as technicians and specialists.

The percentage of paid employees working as technicians and specialists in the private sector reached approximately 28% of the total paid employees in the private sector, with 17% for males and 69% for females.

More than half of the workers in the West Bank are in informal employment.

The percentage of informal employment reached approximately 61% in the West Bank in 2024, compared to 62% in 2023 (i.e., workers in the informal sector, in addition to wage employees, who do not receive any of the rights in the labor market, whether end-of-service/retirement gratuity, paid annual leave, or paid sick leave); 67% for males, compared to 38% for females. The percentage of workers in the informal sector in the West Bank reached approximately 46%; 52% for males and 25% for females, compared to 47% in 2023.

low real wage rates

The average real daily wage for wage earners in the private sector in 2024 (base year = 2018) was approximately 122 shekels in the West Bank, compared to 121 shekels in 2023 (excluding workers within the 1948 territories and settlements).

The transportation, storage, and communications sector recorded the highest real daily wage rates in the private sector, at 166 shekels in the West Bank, followed by the construction sector at 141 shekels, while the agriculture sector recorded the lowest real daily wage rate at 79 shekels.

In a related context, the average weekly working hours for paid employees reached approximately 42 working hours; 41.6 working hours for paid employees in the public sector, and 42.1 working hours in the private sector.

16% of private sector wage earners receive a monthly wage less than the minimum wage (1,880 shekels) in the West Bank.

The percentage of private sector wage earners who receive a monthly wage less than the minimum wage (NIS 1,880) in the West Bank reached approximately 16%, with a number of approximately 40,000, compared to approximately 15% (44,000) in 2023. It is worth noting that, based on the Cabinet decision, the minimum wage (NIS 1,880) was considered effective at the beginning of 2022.

The average monthly wage for those earning less than the minimum wage in the West Bank was NIS 1,424 in 2024, compared to NIS 1,381 in 2023.

Less than half of private sector wage earners in the West Bank receive their rights.

The statistics indicated that about 43% of private sector wage earners receive their rights (retirement funding, end-of-service benefits, paid annual leave, and paid sick leave). The number of private sector wage earners who have a permanent employment contract (written for an indefinite period) reached about 67,000 wage earners, and about 128,000 private sector workers have a temporary employment contract (written for a limited period, verbal agreement), compared to about 101,000 workers who do not have an employment contract. Meanwhile, 51% of female wage earners receive paid maternity leave in 2024.