RAMALLAH, Friday, February 14, 2020 (WAFA) – The unemployment rate in Palestine among labor force participants of 15 years and above stood at 24 percent at the end of the fourth quarter 2019, said the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) in its Labor Force Survey issued yesterday.

PCBS said unemployment rate in the Gaza Strip was 43% compared with 14% in the West Bank, while the unemployment rate for males in Palestine was 21% compared with 38% for females.

Female participation in the labour force was 19% in the Gaza Strip compared with 17% in the West Bank, added the survey.

The number of the employed in the local market increased from 881 thousand in the 3^rd quarter 2019 to 906 thousand in the 4^th  quarter 2019. The number increased in the Gaza Strip by 5.8%, and also in the West Bank increased by 1.6%, for the same period.

The services sector and other branches (including education and health) was the biggest employer in the local market, where the percentage of employment was more than one third of the employed in the West Bank compared with more than the half in Gaza Strip.

The number of employed in Israel and Israeli settlements was about 135 thousand in the 4^th  quarter 2019, with the number of employed in Israeli settlements reaching about 24 thousand in the 4^th quarter 2019 compared with 22 thousand in the 3^rd quarter 2019.

The average daily wage for the wage employees in Israel and Israeli settlements decreased between the 3^rd quarter 2019 and the 4^th quarter 2019 from 261 NIS to 255 NIS respectively.

M.N