RAMALLAH, Wednesday, October 27, 2021 (WAFA) – As 63.4% of the total number of employees in private and non-government enterprises are waged employees, their number decreased by 8.1% in 2020 compared to 2019, today said the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) in a report on the reality of the private and non-government enterprises in Palestine in 2020.
It said that there are 505,182 employed persons in economic enterprises operating in Palestine (331,161 employed persons in the West Bank and 174,021 employed persons in Gaza Strip), a decrease of 8.1% compared with 2019.
Internal trade and services activities contributed to the highest percentage of this reduction (internal trade contributed with 34.5% and services with 29.7%). Among the percentage distribution in 2020, internal trade activity contributed to the highest percentage of operating among employees with 40.3% of the total number of employees, followed by services that constituted 30.4%, industry 21.7%, finance and insurance activities 2.8%, construction activities 1.8%, and the percentages of the information and communications, and transportation and storage activities reached 1.7% and 1.3%, respectively.
The number of employees ranged between unpaid employees (owners of the enterprises and their household members) which constituted 36.6% of the total number of employees, and wage employees that constituted 63.4% of the total number of employees. The total value of compensation for wage employees reached $2,551.2 million.
The total value of output by economic enterprises was $13,123.7 million in Palestine ($10,873.1 million in the West Bank and $2,250.6 million in Gaza Strip) with a decrease of 15.9% compared with 2019.
Industrial and services activities constituted the highest percentage of this reduction (with a contribution of 44.8% for internal trade and 27.6% for industry).
Among the percentage distribution for 2020, industrial activities contributed with 34.0% of the total output followed by internal trade activities that constituted 31.3%, services activities reached 20.9%, finance and insurance activities reached 7.6%, information and communications reached 3.6%, while percentages of construction activities and transportation and storage activities reached 1.7% and 0.9%, respectively.
Results showed that the total value added of economic activities in 2020 was $8,891.4 million with a decrease of 13.7% compared with 2019, due to the procedures taken to stop the outbreak of COVID-19 in Palestine. Internal trade and communication activities contributed with the highest percentage of this reduction (internal trade contributed with a percentage of 67.7% and communications contributed with 12.3%).
In 2020, the highest value-added was from the internal trade activities with a percentage of 37.7%, followed by industry activities with a percentage of 24.5%, services activities with a percentage of 23.6%, finance and insurance activities with a percentage of 8.1%, information and communications activities with a percentage of 4.0%, construction 1.2%, and transportation and storage with a percentage of 0.9%.
M.K.
