Fact Sheet

Checkpoints, poverty and unemployment go hand in hand.

• Poverty, unemployment higher in areas with greatest mobility restriction
• In West Bank, checkpoints artificially create disadvantaged areas
• In Gaza, closed borders incapacitate private sector

Checkpoints have microeconomic consequences

• Checkpoints can make a force a price difference of from 7 to 10 percent for staples such as vegetables, fruits, tea and sugar.
• Some sectors affected more than others: agriculture, which depends on access to markets and transportation, is particularly vulnerable to mobility restrictions. 

A sheer lack of jobs drives unemployment

• In Gaza, one in seven chance of poverty if head of household is educated and employed
• But one in two chance of poverty if head of household is educated and unemployed.
• West Bank/Gaza has some of the highest unemployment rates in the world, well above 35 percent in Gaza.
• Statistics mask real lack of adequate job: underemployment rose from 15 percent in 1998 to more than 25 percent in 2009/

Youth, women particularly vulnerable

• Youth unemployment is 49 percent 
• Youth labor force participation three percentage points below 1998 level
• Female labor force participation has rise since 2003, but unemployment has increased.
• Widespread male unemployment pushes more women to look for work, but fewer jobs make it difficult for women to find employment

Public sector provides safety net in Gaza

• Percentage of household heads working in the public sector rose from 33.8 percent to 45.6 percent between 2004 and 2009.
• Public sector employees are still vulnerable to economic shock; susceptible to fluctuations in foreign aid that cuts off, reduces or holds their salaries in arrears.

Real wages falling across education levels

• The mean wage for those with a secondary school education fell by 25 percent between 1999 and 2009 and as much as 45 percent for illiterate workers, largely due to the loss of Israeli jobs after the Second Intifada.
• In recent years, mean real wages have not returned to pre-Intifada levels. Instead, they have stagnated between 2003 and 2009.

Easing restrictions and lifting closures: the single most important reform

• PA has made concerted effort to facilitate reforms within its limited parameters; investing in human development, ensuring equitable access to services, providing supportive environment for private investment.
• Closures and restrictions constrain growth, investment and job creation essential for highly educated population.