Pandemic Causes Unemployment in Palestine to 26.6 Percent

Gaza, MINA – The unemployment rate in Palestine increased to 26.6 percent during the second quarter of 2020, compared to 25 percent in the first quarter due to the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) said in a report on Thursday that the number of workers on the Palestinian market had decreased during the second quarter from one million to 800,000, thus quoted from MEMO on Friday.

The workforce in the occupied West Bank fell by ten percent, while in the Gaza Strip there was a 17 percent decrease in employment.

The unemployment rate in the Gaza Strip reaches 49 percent with more than 200,000 unemployed. Meanwhile, the West Bank unemployment rate stands at 14.8 percent with 118,000 unemployed.

According to reports, those are working in restaurants, hotels and construction activities have been hardest hit by the pandemic.

The report noted that the number of workers in Israel had decreased from 120,000 in the first quarter of 2020 to 94,000 in the second quarter.

On Wednesday, the total infected by the coronavirus in Palestine reached 36,200 people. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)