The Central Bureau of Statistics said that the results of the labor force survey last year revealed the impact of the Corona pandemic on the Palestinian labor market, in terms of the number of workers absent from their work, the low participation rate in the workforce, and the high unemployment rates that were recorded on the Home level.
He explained in a report published today, Tuesday, in this regard, that the labor market is the most affected during the Corona pandemic that has been ongoing since the beginning of the year 2020.
The following are the most important labor market indicators during the past year:
14% of workers were absent from their work due to the pandemic
The results showed that there are 137,600 workers who were absent from their work in 2020, and this constitutes 14% of the total workers, compared to 68,800 workers absent from their work in 2019 (7%).
Decline in labor force participation
The labor force participation rate decreased to 41%, compared to 44% in 2019. The data indicated that this percentage decreased in the West Bank from 46% to 44%, and in the Gaza Strip from 41% to 35% during the same period.
This explains why unemployment rates have not increased significantly during the year 2020, as the unemployment rate among labor force participants (15 years and over) in 2020 was about 26%, compared with 25% in 2019, while the total under-employment of labor was about 36%, According to the standards of the International Labor Organization (ICLS-19th.
Bethlehem and Deir Al-Balah recorded the highest unemployment rates among the governorates
Bethlehem governorate in the West Bank recorded the highest unemployment rate of about 25%, followed by Jenin and Salfit governorates at 20% in each of them, while the governorates of Jerusalem, Ramallah and Al-Bireh recorded the lowest unemployment rate of 7% and 10%, respectively, in contrast, Deir Al-Balah governorate recorded in the Gaza Strip Gaza has the highest unemployment rate at 53%, followed by Rafah Governorate, 52%, while North Gaza Governorate recorded the lowest unemployment rate at 38%.
The category of young people who hold an intermediate diploma or higher suffers from unemployment
The unemployment rate among youth (19-29) years of graduates holding an intermediate diploma or higher was about 54%, by 69% for females compared to 39% for males, while it reached 52% in 2019, at 35% for males and 68% for females.
A decrease in the number of employees by 55 thousand workers in 2020 compared to 2019
The number of workers decreased from 1.01 million workers in 2019 to about 559 thousand workers in 2020, by 5%, as it decreased in the Gaza Strip by 13% and in the West Bank by 3%.
Perhaps the largest decrease between 2019 and 2020 was recorded among wage employees, with a decrease of 32,000 workers, followed by self-employed workers (self-employed and self-employed), as their number decreased by 23,000 workers.
A decrease in the number of workers in the local market between 2019 and 2020
The number of workers in the local market decreased from 877,000 workers in 2019 to 830,000 workers in 2020, as the number in the Gaza Strip decreased by 13%, and the number in the West Bank decreased by 2% for the same period.
A decrease in the number of workers in Israel and Israeli settlements by about 8 thousand between 2019 and 2020
The number of workers in Israel and Israeli settlements decreased from about 133 thousand workers in 2019 to 125 thousand workers in 2020, as the number of workers decreased significantly among individuals over 50 years of age, and the data also showed that most of the decrease in the number of workers was among workers in The construction sector increased by 15%, followed by the agricultural activity by 9% of workers. As for the rest of the activities, there was a slight increase in the number of workers in them.
7 out of 10 workers are wage employees
72% of workers are wage employees, compared to 24% are self-employed and employers, and 4% are unpaid family members.
About half of workers are classified as informal labor, and about a third of wage employees in the private sector obtain their rights
About 50% of workers in Palestine are classified as informal employment, 52% in the West Bank and 42% in Gaza Strip.
About 35% of wage employees in the private sector get their rights (retirement funding / end of service bonus in addition to paid annual leave, and paid sick leave), while about 60% of women working for wages get paid maternity leave.
36% of wage employees in the Palestinian private sector work under an employment contract. 23% of wage employees are affiliated with trade unions / professional unions.
