A day’s wage
₪134.3
average daily wage in the West Bank; ₪263.4 in Israel and the settlements
The count
How many are out of work depends on who counts, what they count and when. Every figure here keeps its source, its date and what it measures; none is averaged with another.
The count · 20 figures from 10 sources
68% — unemployment in Gaza: Gaza Ministry of Labour, 8 Oct.
The wall is a hundred people. Pick a figure and that many blocks come out. Percentages above 90 are shown as 91.
Who counts what
The same question, asked of different people, on different dates.
| Figure | What it measures | Who, when |
|---|---|---|
| 68% | unemployment in Gaza A statement on the war’s damage to the labour market. | Gaza Ministry of Labour, 8 Oct |
| 74% | of Gaza’s workers who lost their jobs and are now unemployed or outside the labour force Counts people who stopped looking, too. | Gaza Ministry of Labour, 8 Oct |
| 78% | unemployment in Gaza in 2025 A yearly figure, not this month’s. | UNCTAD, via Al Jazeera, 7 Oct |
| ~80% | unemployment in Gaza Released in early July; cited on 13 Oct. | Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions, 13 Oct |
| 90%+ | of Gaza’s working-age population unemployed Working age, not labour force: the base is everyone of working age. | UNCTAD annual report, via Al Jazeera, 24 Sep |
| 27.9% | unemployment in the West Bank, April–June The latest labour-force survey; 29.5% in January–March. | Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, 11 Aug |
| 38% | unemployment in the West Bank Released in early July. | Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions, 13 Oct |
| 85% | of people forced from the Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams camps with no regular income About 33,000 people were forced out in early 2025. | UNRWA, via Al Jazeera, 27 Sep |
Other counts
Wages, workplaces and what the war has taken, each cast on the slab, kept apart from the people.
Working in Israel
~53,000
West Bank residents employed in Israel (about 35,000) and the settlements (about 17,600)
Under the minimum wage
15.5%
of West Bank private-sector employees earn below the ₪1,880 monthly minimum
Young graduates
38.3%
unemployment among West Bank graduates aged 19–29; 51.2% for women
Out of school and work
74%
of 15–29-year-olds in Gaza not in education, training or work
Gaza Ministry of Labour, Palestinian Information Center, 8 Oct
Building
1%
of 2022 construction output; agriculture and industry at 6%
UNCTAD via Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera, 7 Oct
Workplaces
92%
of Gaza’s economic establishments damaged or destroyed
UNCTAD via Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera, 24 Sep
Rubble cleared
1.5%
of 61 million tonnes, about 907,000 tonnes, a third recycled; seven crushers
Arab News, Arab News, 7 Oct
Wages erased
$2.8bn
cumulative labour income erased in the occupied Palestinian territory
UNCTAD via Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera, 24 Sep
On the way to work
52
workers killed going to or at work; more than 38,000 workers arrested
PGFTU via Palestinian Information Center, Palestinian Information Center, 13 Oct
Herds
17,000
sheep left in the northern Jordan Valley, from about 30,000; cattle from about 2,000 to 500
Northern Jordan Valley Agriculture Dept, Palestinian Information Center, 13 Oct
Hours at checkpoints
191,146
working hours lost to checkpoint delays every day
MAS study via Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera, 10 Sep