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Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
(PCBS) revealed that the unemployment rate in Gaza Strip is 30.3%
and 20.3% in West Bank.
PCBS said in a press release issued Sunday on the occasion of May
1st, International Workers' Day that 4 out of 10 persons participate
in the labour force.
"Participation in the labour force is considered the main indicator
for the efficiency and activity of the labour market in providing
job opportunities," it added. "The labour force survey results
showed a decrease in the participation rate from 43.6%. to 0.7% of
total manpower (persons aged 15 years and over) in 2005. This means
that 4 persons out of 10 are participating in the labour force."
PCBS said, in 2005, the participation rate in the West Bank was
42.9%, compared to 36.7% in the Gaza Strip.
"The female participation rate in the Palestinian Territory is
considered very low compared with the male participation rate, at
13.4% (15.8% in the West Bank and 9.0% in Gaza Strip) for females,
compared to 67.6% (69.5% in the West Bank and 63.9% in Gaza Strip)
for males," it said. "The number of participants in the labour force
is estimated to be about 827,000 (568,000 in the West Bank and
259,000 in the Gaza Strip)."
PCBS revealed that more than one fifth of participants in the labour
force are unemployed. "The percentage of unemployed among the
persons participating in the labour force in 2005 was 23.5% (20.3%
in the West Bank and 30.3% in Gaza Strip). The unemployment rate
among females was 22.3% compared with 23.7% among men. The number of
unemployed persons is estimated to be about 194,000 (115,000 in the
West Bank and 79,000 in Gaza Strip)."
It mentioned that the unemployment rate in the Palestinian Territory
is considered very high compared with other countries. For instance,
the unemployment rate in Jordan was 12.5% and in Israel was 10.4%.
PCBS said that Hebron Governorate had the highest rate of
unemployment in the West Bank while Deir Al Balah had the highest in
the Gaza Strip. "In 2005, Hebron governorate had the highest
unemployment rate with 26.1%, followed by Jenin governorate with
25.3%. The lowest rate of unemployment in the West Bank was in
Jericho and Al-Aghwar Governorate in Jordan Valley 13.2%) and
Bethlehem Governorate (13.5%). In the Gaza Strip, Deir Al Balah
governorate had the highest rate of unemployed with 35.1%, and then
North Gaza with 33.6%, the lowest percentage of unemployed was in
Gaza (26.8%)."
It stated that the number of employed persons is estimated to be
about 633,000 (males and females) in the Palestinian Territory in
2005 (453,000 in the West Bank and 180,000 in the Gaza Strip). "The
number of employed females is estimated to be about 105,000 women
(85,000 in the West Bank and 20,000 in Gaza Strip). The number of
persons employed in Israel and Israeli settlements from the West
Bank was about 35,000 with Palestinian Identity cards and 28,000
with foreign and Israeli Identity cards, compared with less than one
thousand from the Gaza Strip employed in Israel. In comparison, the
number of employed persons in Israel on the eve of al-Aqsa Intifada
(3rd quarter 2000) was 146,000 (116,000 from West Bank and 30,000
from Gaza Strip)."
As for the percentage of wage employees, PCBS mentioned that it was
59.5% of total employment (56.4% in the West Bank and 67.1% in Gaza
Strip), down from 67.6% at the eve of Intifada (66.2% in the West
Bank and 71.0% in Gaza Strip). The percentage of self employed
increased from 18.1% in the 3rd quarter 2000 to 26.1% in 2005.
"The services sector (e.g., education, health, public
administration, etc.) is considered the main employing sector for
the Palestinian labour force, the results showed that 34.4% of
employed persons work in that sector: 49.5% of which are employed in
the Gaza Strip, 31.5% are employed in the West Bank (excluding the
Palestinian workers in Israel and settlements)," it added. "The
construction sector is considered the main sector for those working
in Israel and the Settlements, with 41.9% in that sector. The trade
and restaurants sector followed the services sector in the local
market, employing 20.8% in the West Bank and 16.3% in the Gaza
Strip, followed by the agricultural sector with 17.1% in the West
Bank and 11.7% in the Gaza Strip."
PCBS said that the public sector plays the main role in hiring
unemployed persons: about 26,000 persons are enrolled in the public
sector, where the total employed persons are 141,000 (72,000 in the
West Bank and 69,000 in the Gaza Strip). "In 2005, the public sector
employed 23.0% of all employed persons in the Palestinian Territory,
compared to 17.4% in the 3rd quarter 2000 (eve of Intifada)."
It revealed that the average daily wage for employees in the local
sector NIS 69.2 (Israeli currency). "The average daily wage in 2005
reached NIS 73.7 for wage employees in the local sector in West Bank
compared with NIS 61.9 in Gaza Strip and NIS 127 in Israel and
Settlements. Also, the results showed, PCBS added, that the average
weekly work hours for employed persons in West Bank were 42.5 hours
compared with 41.2 hours in Gaza Strip and 44.7 hours for those
working in Israel and Settlements.
PCBS said their were 300,000 graduates of higher education and
vocational education and training at the end of 2005. "The results
of the survey of conditions of graduates of higher education and
vocational training, which was conducted by the PCBS during the
period from 14/12/2005 to 19/1/2006 in the Palestinian Territory,
indicated that the estimated number of persons aged 15 years and
above currently attending educational institutions was 473,000
persons representing 22.8% of the total persons aged 15 years and
above, of which 292,000 were in the West Bank and 181,000 in the
Gaza Strip, while females constitute 48.7% of total persons
attending education.
As for the results of the Graduates Conditions Survey, PCBS showed
that the number of graduates who were persons 15 years and above and
holders of training /vocational education certificates were about
300,000 at the end 2005, representing 14.5% of the total population
aged 15 years and above.
It added that the highest unemployment rate registered among the
training/vocational education graduates is 34.8% in the end of 2005.
"The results of the Graduates Conditions Survey showed that the
highest labour force participation rate was among graduates who were
persons aged 15 years and above in the Palestinian Territory and
their educational qualification was bachelor degree and above,
participation was 89.2% (88.2% in the West Bank and 90.7% in the
Gaza Strip).
The results showed that the highest unemployment rate was among
graduates persons holding vocational education and training
certificates, at 34.8% (30.9% in the West Bank and 41.2% in Gaza
Strip), while the lowest unemployment rate was registered for
persons holding bachelor degrees and above at 22.1% (18.1% in the
West Bank and 27.9% in the Gaza Strip).
"57.3% of unemployed graduates who registered at the labour office
(administered by the Ministry of Labour) are still waiting for work
compared to 12.9% of those who registered and got a job, 29.8% did
not register at the labour office, the main reason for not
registering for 31.6% was due to not knowing about the availability
of labour offices, and the second reason for 26.4%. was that the job
opportunities provided were not suitable," it said.
PCBS said that the economic dependency ratio increased in the
Palestinian Territory from 4.8 to 6.2 between the 3rd quarter 2000
and 1st quarter 2006 (the change rate is 29.1%). It increased in the
West Bank from 4.3 to 5.4 (the change rate is 25.6%) and in Gaza
Strip increased from 5.9 to 8.4 (the change rate is 42.4%).
It pointed out that most of wage employees working under work
conditions that does not match with the international standards.
"The results showed that more than half of employees in private
sector do not have the minimum occupational safety tools. 60.6% of
them do not have emergency exits, 31% do not have fire extinguishers
or a first aid box.
Also the results showed that 65% of employees in private sector do
not have insurance against work injuries, and 62% do not have health
insurance. On other side, 55.4% of employees in the public sector do
not have emergency exits, 18.1% do not have first aid box and 15.8%
do not have fire extinguishers.
The PCBS mentioned that more than half of wage employees in private
sector do not get the rights adopted by international organizations.
"The results showed that 56.3% of employees in the private sector do
not get annual paid vacations, while 52.3% do not get paid sick
leaves and 56.0% do not get paid emergency leaves. Also, the results
showed that 18.3% of wage employees in the private sector do not
receive wages regularly."
PCBS results showed that 68.6% of employed persons are not
affiliated to a labour union, 13.3% indicated that the reason was
due to union affiliation rules, and 79.3% reported that they were
not interested because they were not convinced about the union's
performance.
Source:
WAFA, 2 May 2006
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