BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee

60
Survey of Palestinian Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (2006-2007)
2.4 Labour Force Indicators
Labour force participation, employment and income are related to access to labour markets, education, health, the role of
women in the workplace, and political stability. Sub-standard living conditions, especially in camps, lead to health problems,
which in turn affect labour force participation. Across the region, economic indicators for women lag behind those for men.
The civil war in Lebanon (1976–1991), the 1990–91 Gulf War, the US-led war and occupation of Iraq, Israel’s war on
Lebanon in 2006 and Israel’s ongoing occupation and colonization of the West Bank and Gaza Strip have had particularly
negative impacts on access to employment, labour force participation, and household income of Palestinian refugees.
Less than half of the total refugee
labour force is economically active.
The labour force participation rate
is calculated as the proportion
of every employed and working
person above the age of 15 to
the total population above that
age. Employed persons include
everyone who has worked for at
least one hour within a set reference
period, for pay in cash or in kind,
Balata refugee camp, Nablus, occupied West Bank. October 2006. © Anne Paq.
as well as those temporarily absent
from a job they perform on a
regular basis. Labour force participation is highest in Syria, and lowest in the occupied Gaza Strip.
Table 2.9: Refugee and IDPs – Total Labour Force Participation
Total Labour Force Participation % Participation by women %
Jordan 41.9 12.9
Lebanon 42.2 16.8
Syria 49.3 18.0
Israel a 43.6 18.9
West Bank b 42.2 13.7
Gaza Strip 37.3
2.4.1 Labour Force
Participation
Sources: The data for Jordan and Syria dates from 2000 and for Lebanon, 1999. See Statistical Abstract of Palestine 7, Palestinian Central
Bureau of Statistics, Ramallah, November 2006.
a. This number reflects the labour force of the entire Palestinian population in Israel, including IDPs. The 2003 statistics from FAFO indicate a
lower labour force for IDPs in Israel (41.1). See Palestinians in Israel: Socio-Economic Survey 2004, prepared by Ahmad El Sheikh Muhammad,
Shefa-Amr: The Galilee Society, Rizak and Mada al-Carmel, July 2005, p. 139.
b. Data from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, 2007. Figures for the first quarter of 2007 and participation by women represent
both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip together.
Participation among refugee women is very low compared to refugee men. Labour force participation rates for
refugee men are approximately 70%, while they are 9–19% for refugee women. 40 Labour force participation
generally increases with higher education, especially among women. Study is given as the most significant reason
for economic inactivity among young men (15–24 years old) – this accounts for 62% to 72% of such cases. For
men between 25 and 45 years old, discouragement is the most commonly cited reason (between 25% and 38% in
Jordan and Lebanon) for non-participation in the labour force. Older men cite health reasons and retirement as
the principal reasons for economic inactivity. Young refugee women aged 15 to 24 in Lebanon and Jordan identify
family duties (44% and 43% respectively) and study (30% and 41% respectively) as the most important reasons