JERUSALEM, December 7, 2011 (WAFA) – A new report by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, Wednesday found evidence that in spite of Gaza’s construction industry experiencing a period of relatively expanded activity due to the tunnel economy, the situation of some one million refugees registered with the Agency remains of concern.
According to the report, comparing macro-economic indicators for the first half of 2011 with the first half of 2010, there was a decline in the refugee participation in the labor force following robust growth in the working-age population. The refugee unemployment rate remains high at 33.8 per cent.
There were some 1,430 more refugees employed in the public sector and about 18,670 more in the private sector, for a net gain of about 20,100 jobs.
Refugees accounted for less than 20% of job growth in the public sector and about 55% of private employment growth in the parallel period comparison. Given that refugees accounted for nearly 62% of the Gaza labor force in this period, these gains are less than proportional, particularly in the case of the public sector, it said.
UNRWA report found a “surge in private employment” as a result of “expanded importation of much-needed building materials and other productive inputs”.
UN estimates showed that for the month of September, 46,500 tons of aggregate came through the Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel into Gaza, whereas 90,000 tons came through the tunnels; 9,195 tons of cement came through Kerem Shalom, while there were 90,000 tons of cement through the tunnels, and 1,418 tons of steel bars came through Kerem Shalom, whereas 15,000 tons came through the tunnels.
“Despite the easing of restrictions on the Israeli-imposed blockade, tight controls of the crossings from Israel into Gaza are a significant factor behind the growth in the tunnel economy,” said UNRWA spokesman, Chris Gunness.
He added, “The facts speak for themselves. Construction jobs grew by more than 9,400, increasing by 3.5 times relative to first half 2010. This accounted for 27.7 per cent of all job growth in the year-on-year period. This is still significantly lower than pre-blockade levels. But despite significant gains, broad unemployment in Gaza, at nearly 33%, remains among the most severe in the world. Under such circumstances, the reversal of deepening poverty and aid dependency among ordinary people in Gaza is unlikely.”
The report found that in an economy severely depressed for most of the past decade, developments in the first half of 2011 provided some marginal relief. “Employment jumped by more than 47,000 jobs in first-half 2011, or 24.7% to an estimated 237,475. The broad unemployment rate declined to 32.9% from 45.2% in second-half 2010.”
According to the report, “The private sector accounted for 90% of all job gains in first-half 2011 relative to second-half 2010 as it added 42,450 positions. In proportional terms, private sector employment jumped by 42.4% in the sequential period comparison. Public sector employment grew by 4,660 jobs or 5.1% in the same period.”
However, the private sector continues to be badly affected by the restrictions on exports. While the informal economy provided for wider imports, the blockade continues to restrict exports, which today stand at just over three% of pre-blockade levels, preventing sustainable economic growth, the report concluded.
T.R./F.R.
