There Has Been No Decrease in Palestine’s Unemployment Rate
The Claim
According to Palestinian Prime Minister Dr. Muhammad Shtayyeh, the unemployment rate in the Palestinian territories has decreased.
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During a meeting with Tulkarm Governorate officials and institutions, Palestinian Prime Minister Dr. Muhammad Shtayyeh stated that the global unemployment rate has risen during COVID-19, while the Palestinian territories' unemployment rate has decreased.
Misbar’s Analysis
The Misbar team investigated the accuracy of the information Dr. Shtayyeh mentioned by referring to international and local reports, and discovered that his statements were incorrect for the following reasons:
First, according to the Central Statistics Authority, the unemployment rate in Palestine increased due to the Corona pandemic, with the unemployment rate in 2019 reaching 25.3 percent. It is expected to rise to 25.9 percent by 2020.
In the first, second, and third quarters of 2021, the unemployment rate was 28.6%, 26.8%, and 27.6%, according to official figures.
Second, according to the Trading Economics website's most recent update on 12/27/2021, Palestine ranked sixth in the world and first in Asia in the list of the most unemployed countries, with a rate of 26.4 percent.
Third, according to the Central Statistics Authority, the unemployment rate in the West Bank fell from 17 percent in the first and second quarters to 15 percent in the third quarter of 2021. The report, however, attributed the decrease to an increase in the number of workers in "Israeli settlements." The number of workers in Israeli settlements reached 19 thousand in the second quarter and 22 thousand in the third quarter, an increase of 3000 workers.
As a result, the decrease was caused by an increase in the number of workers in Israeli illegal settlements, rather than an increase in local production capacity.
