PCBS: unemployment up to 26.8% in third quarter

Unemployment rate in the Palestinian Territory increased from 24.0% in second quarter of 2011 to 26.8% in the third quarter, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) said Monday. The PCBS labor force survey showed that the highest unemployment rate in the West Bank was in Tulkarm, while the highest in Gaza was in Rafah. It said that labor force participation rate of people aged 15 years and above was 43.6%. The number of Palestinians participating in the labor force in the Palestinian Territory was 1.081 million in the third quarter of 2011; 732,000 in the West Bank and 349,000 in the Gaza Strip. Labor force participation rate in the West Bank was 46.2% and 39.0% in the Gaza Strip. The participation rate for males was 70.0% compared to 16.7% for females, it said. The report showed that the unemployment rate among labor force participants was 22.4%. The number of unemployed was 242,000 in the third quarter of 2011; 144,000 in the West Bank and 98,000 in the Gaza Strip. Moreover, the unemployment rate in the Gaza Strip was 28.0% compared with 19.7% in the West Bank; 20.5% for males compared to 30.5% for females. The highest unemployment rate in the third quarter of 2011 was 39.0% among youth aged 20-24 years. The unemployment rate among females with 13 years of schooling or more was 41.0%. The highest unemployment rate in West Bank governorates was in Tulkarm and Qalqilya with 28.5% and 26.0%, respectively. While in the Gaza Strip, the highest unemployment rate was 34.1% in Rafah governorate. The number of employed in the local market fell from 768,000 in the second quarter of 2011 to 751,000 in the third quarter. The number of Palestinians employed in the West Bank fell by 17,000, while the number of employed in Gaza remained unchanged. The services sector was the biggest employer in the local market with 33.0% in the West Bank and 52.8% in the Gaza Strip. However, the public sector comprises 22.8% of those in employment; 38.8% in the Gaza Strip and 15.9% in the West Bank. The average daily wage for waged employees in the West Bank was 84.3 Israeli shekels compared with 59.3 shekels in the Gaza Strip. The average number of working hours by waged employees in the West Bank increased slightly from 42.8 per week in the second quarter of 2011 to 43.4 in the third quarter. The average number of working days per month increased from 22.5 to 22.6 over the same period. The average number of working hours per week in the Gaza Strip increased from 37.5 to 38.2 over the same period. While the average number of working days per month decreased from 23.7 to 23.4 days over the same period. The number of workers from the West Bank employed in Israel and Israeli settlements increased from 84,000 in the second quarter 2011 to 87,000 in the third  quarter 2011; 32,000 had a permit, 24,000 worked without a permit, and 31,000 workers have an Israeli identity card or foreign passport. The number of employees in Israeli settlements remained at 12000 between the second and third quarters of 2011. A total of 50.6% of Palestinian workers employed in Israel and Israeli settlements work in the construction sector. The average daily wage for people employed in Israel and Israeli settlements increased from 160.5 shekels in the second quarter of 2011 to 164.5 shekels in the third quarter.