Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS)


Bethlehem Governorate in the West Bank and Deir Al-Balah Governorate in Gaza Strip Recorded the Highest Unemployment Rates.


The unemployment rate among labour force participants in Palestine reached 26% in 2021, and the total labour underutilization reached 34%.

There is still a large disparity in the unemployment rate between the West Bank and Gaza Strip, as this rate reached 47% in Gaza Strip compared to 16% in the West Bank. On the gender level, the unemployment rate for females reached 43% compared to 22% for males in Palestine.

Based on the latest Revised ILO standards ICLS 19th, the number of unemployed was 371,600 in 2021 (229,600 in Gaza Strip and 141,900 in the West Bank).

Total labour underutilization was 524,200 persons including 72,500 discouraged jobseekers and 26,400 in time-related underemployment.

Bethlehem governorate in the West Bank and Dier Al-Balah governorate in Gaza Strip recorded the highest Unemployment rates in 2021.
Bethlehem Governorate recorded the highest unemployment rate in the West Bank with about 25% followed by Jenin and Hebron governorates about 19% for each of them while Jerusalem governorate reached about 4% which is the lowest among the West Bank Governorates. In Gaza Strip, Dier Al-Balah Governorate recorded the highest unemployment rate with about 53% followed by Khan Yunis about 51% while North Gaza governorate reached about 38% which is the lowest among Gaza Strip governorates.

Unemployment rate was the highest among youth graduates
The unemployment rate among youth people (19-29) years of graduates holding an intermediate diploma or higher reached 53% representing (about 50% of total unemployed youth and about 27% of total unemployed); 66% for females compared to 39% for males. At the regional level, the unemployment rate for youth graduates in the West Bank reached 36 % compared to 74% in Gaza Strip.




A large gap in the labour force participation rate between males and females
About 7 out of 10 of males participated in the labor force, compared with about 2 out of 10 of females, and the rate of female participation in the labor force was 17% compared to 69% for males.

There is still a large disparity in the labour force participation rate between the West Bank and Gaza Strip, as this rate reached 39% in Gaza Strip compared to 46% in the West Bank.

The number of entrants into the labour market in 2021 was about 117 thousand (51 thousand individuals in the West Bank and 66 thousand individuals in Gaza Strip).

The number of the employed in the local market increased between 2020 and 2021
The number of the employed in the local market increased from 830 thousand in 2020 to 889 thousand in 2021, where it increased in the West Bank by 4%, and in Gaza Strip it increased by 15% for the same period.

The services sector and other branches (including education and health) were the biggest employer in the local market, where the percentage of employment was more than one third of the employed in the West Bank compared with more than half in Gaza Strip.

The average weekly hours worked by wage employees in the West Bank was 43.5 hour compared with 36.5 hour in Gaza Strip. And the average number of days worked per month was 23.0 day in the West Bank and 22.3 day in Gaza Strip.

145 thousand are employed in Israel and Israeli settlements in 2021
The number of workers in Israel and the settlements in the year 2021 reached about 145 thousand workers, of whom 21 thousand work in the Israeli settlements. The percentage of workers in Israel and the settlements who obtained work permits reached 61%, while the percentage of workers without work permits was about 25%, and as for those who have a foreign passport, their percentage reached 14%.

The construction sector recorded the highest employment rate in Israel and the settlements, which constitutes 63% of the total Palestinian workers in Israel and the settlements.  While their average daily wage is 266 NIS.

7 out of 10 of the employed are wage employees
72% of the employed are wage employees, 24% are self-employed and employers, while 4% are unpaid family members.

About half of the wage employees in the private sector are hired without any contract
52% of wage employees in the private sector are hired without any contract, and 32% of wage employees contribute to a pension fund/end of service benefit. In contrast, 51% of wage female employees have paid maternity leave.

29% of wage employees in the private sector received monthly wages less than the monthly minimum wage (1,450 NIS) in Palestine
There is stability in the percentage of wage employees in the private sector who receive a monthly wage less than the minimum wage in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip between 2020 and 2021 (about 7% in the West Bank and about 81% in Gaza Strip).

The gap in the minimum monthly wage rate remains high between the West Bank and Gaza Strip; 655 NIS in Gaza Strip compared with 1,098 NIS in the West Bank.

The percentage of employed children in the West Bank is higher than it is in Gaza Strip
3% of children aged (10-17 years) were employed; 4% in the West Bank and 1% in Gaza Strip.