BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee

Population Numbers, Distribution and Characteristics
for economic inactivity; among older women, family duties are given as the single most important reason (varying
between 66% and 86% among women over 25 years old). 41
2.4.2 Unemployment
Unemployment rates range from 11% to 34%, with rates in the OPT substantially higher as a result of the Israeli
occupation and military activity since the second intifada, and more recently, the international sanctions against the
democratically elected Palestinian Authority. Unemployed persons include everyone who did not work at all in the
set reference period, not even for one hour, although they were available for work and actively sought work during
that period. The unemployment rate is the proportion of unemployed persons among the total labour force.
Table 2.10: Unemployment Rates in Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria (2003) (shown as %)
Jordan Lebanon Syria
Camp Non-camp Camp Non-camp All
M 11 16 16 16 13.2
F 13 30 18 22 15.5
Age
15–24 18 30 25 33
25–44 11 15 14 22
45+ 7 10 11 23
Sources: Finding Means: UNRWA’s Financial Crisis and Refugee Living Conditions. Vol. I: Socio-Economic Situation of Palestinian Refugees in Jordan,
Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank and Gaza Strip, FAFO, Institute for Applied Social Science, 2003. In Lebanon, the “camp” category includes
non-camp refugees in categories for age and education, due to insufficient data for separate breakdown. For Lebanon, the figure for ages 15–24
is the unweighted average of smaller age groups used by the PCBS; Statistical Yearbook of Palestine 4, Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics,
2003. Non-camp figures for Lebanon only include refugee “gatherings” (defined as a community outside a camp with 25 or more households).
Unemployment is higher among refugee women than among men in Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, and also among
IDP communities in Israel. There is little difference between the rates for refugee women and men in the 1967occupied
Palestinian Territory.
In the OPT, the unemployment rate was 27.6% among refugees, compared to 21.1% for non-refugees.
Unemployment rates for 2006 are higher in the occupied Gaza Strip (33.9%) than in the West Bank (20.7%). 42 In
Israel, the unemployment rate is 14.8% and 10.2% for Palestinian women and men respectively. 43 Unemployment
is also high among young refugees and Palestinians in Israel (19.9% for 15–24 year-old Palestinians). 44 The level of
education has a mixed association with unemployment rates. In the OPT, Israel and Jordan, unemployment decreases
with higher education; however, level of education has no impact on unemployment rates in Lebanon. In Israel,
the unemployment rate for Palestinians decreases to 5.9% for those who have 13 or more years of education. 45
The relationship between camp residence, education and unemployment is also mixed. In Jordan, there are no
significant differences between the unemployment rates of refugees who have higher education within and outside
camps. Unemployment among camp refugees in the occupied Gaza Strip decreases with higher education, while
no significant relationship appears to exist between camp residence, education and unemployment in the occupied
West Bank.
Unemployment rates among refugees in Lebanon are higher than for Lebanese nationals. There is little difference
between refugees and non-refugees in Jordan. Unemployment rates outside camps in the 1967-occupied Palestinian
territory tend to be similar to those of non-refugee Palestinians.
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