Unemployment in Gaza Reaches 80% Amid Ongoing War

The International Labour Organization stated today, Friday, that "the unemployment rate in the Gaza Strip has reached nearly 80 percent since the outbreak of war with Israel in October, raising the average unemployment rate across the Palestinian territories to over 50 percent." The UN-affiliated organization, in its fourth assessment of the war's impact on employment, reported that "the unemployment rate has reached 79.1 percent in the Gaza Strip and about 32 percent in the West Bank, bringing the overall rate to 50.8 percent." Ruba Jaradat, the organization's regional director for Arab States, remarked, "This excludes Palestinians who have lost hope of finding a job." She added, "The situation is much worse."