Unemployment rates in Gaza soar to nearly 80%
Unemployment rates in the Gaza Strip have surged to nearly 80% since the outbreak of Israeli Occupation aggression, leading to a near-total collapse of the already devastated economy, according to a report from the International Labour Organization (ILO) affiliated with the United Nations.
The report released on Thursday stated that Gaza's economic output has contracted by 85% since the start of the war over a year ago, pushing nearly all of the region's 2.3 million residents into poverty.
The organization noted that the aggression has caused "widespread and unprecedented destruction" of the labor market and the economy in Gaza.
In contrast, the unemployment rate in the West Bank reached 34.9% between October 2023 and the end of September 2024, with the economy shrinking by 21.7% compared to the previous year. Before the outbreak of the war, the unemployment rate in Gaza was at 45.3%, while in the West Bank, it was 14%. Now, Gaza's workforce has either lost their jobs entirely or shifted to informal and irregular work, primarily focused on providing essential goods and services.
Health authorities in Gaza report that the ongoing aggression has resulted in the deaths of over 42,000 people to date.
United Nations satellite data indicates that two-thirds of buildings and facilities in Gaza have been destroyed or leveled, totaling over 163,000 structures.
The crisis has also extended to the West Bank, where the ILO confirmed that Israeli restrictions on the movement of people, goods, and trade across borders, alongside supply chain obstacles, have severely harmed the economy there.
Ruba Jaradat, the ILO's regional director for Arab states, stated that "the impact of the war on Gaza extends beyond loss of life, deteriorating humanitarian conditions, and physical destruction." She emphasized that "the war has fundamentally altered the socio-economic landscape in Gaza and has severely affected the economy and labor market in the West Bank, and this impact will persist for generations to come."
