Data published in the statistics by the Palestinian Monetary Authority for the second quarter of this year showed the rise in unemployment by 2% compared to the same period of last year.

Until the middle of this year, the unemployment rate amounted to 26.9 %, while for the same period last year it amounted to 24.8 %. The percentage rises in Gaza to reach 41.7 %, while it drops in the West Bank to  record 18.3 % of the total workforce.

About 70 thousand new person joined the job market last year. Moreover, 18 thousand job opportunity were available in the West Bank and 40 thousand in Gaza, created by the process of reconstruction. Yet, these jobs are still temporary jobs.

 The service sector accounted for about 35.2 % of the total employment in the Palestinian territories, while trade, restaurants and hotels sector accounted for 21% of them, construction 15%, industry 14%, agriculture 7.7 %, while both the sectors of communication and transportation acquired 6.2 % of total employment .

The report said that about 11.7 % of the Palestinian labor force is working in the Israeli market, and this percentage increased during recent years, as it did not exceed 9.7 % in 2012.

The report noted that the average daily wage of Palestinian workers in the local market reaches 87.6 shekels while in contrast, the average wage in the Israeli market reaches 222 shekels.

A report by the Palestinian Economic Council for Development and Reconstruction –PECDAR-  has warned of an economic and social disaster that may arise because of the continued high unemployment. The report emphasized that this phenomenon has become difficult for the Palestinian economy to deal with within the current political and economic circumstances, asking the government to develop clear policies to deal with it.