RAMALLAH, April 30, 2025 (WAFA) - According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), as of October 7th, 2023, results of Labor Force Survey (LFS) in Gaza Strip during the aggression in the 4th quarter of 2024 showed that unemployment rates reached unprecedented levels of about 68% compared to about 45% in the 3rd quarter of 2023.

Results also showed that labor force participation rate decreased to reach about 30% compared with 40% in the 3rd quarter of 2023 before October 7th 2023.

In a press release issued on the occasion of the International Workers' Day, PCBS said that this impact has not only been reflected on Gaza Strip but also on the West Bank even if it was less affected.

“The impact of the Israeli aggression on Gaza Strip and its repercussions in the West Bank of increasing restrictions and tightening the stranglehold on the governorates of the West Bank, disconnecting communication and roads between the governorates, as well as forbidding workers to access their work inside the occupied territories of Palestine. Hence, all these reasons and more have paralyzed the economic movement in the West Bank.“

As for the West Bank, the number of unemployed persons increased to reach 313 thousand in 2024 compared to about 183 thousand in 2023. Also, unemployment rates among participants in the labor force in the West Bank increased to about 31% in 2024 compared to 18% in 2023. Unemployment rate increased among both males and females to reach 31.7% and 30.1%, respectively, in 2024.

T.R.