Gaza Unemployment Nears 80% As Israeli War Devastates Economy, ILO Reports
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The unemployment rate in Gaza has surged to nearly 80% since the onset of the Israeli war, with the enclave's economy nearing total collapse, the International Labor Organization (ILO) reported on Thursday.
The ILO stated that Gaza's economic output has plummeted by 85% since the Israeli genocidal war began, pushing almost all of the enclave's 2.3 million residents into poverty.
The United Nations agency said the war has caused "unprecedented and wide-ranging devastation on the labour market and the wider economy across the Occupied Palestinian Territory".
In the West Bank, unemployment averaged 34.9% from October 2023 to September 2024, while the economy contracted by 21.7% compared to the previous year, the ILO said.
Before the conflict, Gaza's unemployment rate was 45.3%, and the West Bank's was 14%, according to the ILO.
Gaza residents have either lost their jobs entirely or taken on informal work focused on providing essential goods and services, the ILO noted.
Israel's military operations have killed more than 42,300 people in Gaza, according to health officials there.
Over two-thirds of Gaza’s pre-war structures have been damaged or destroyed, UN satellite data reveals, with more than 163,000 buildings affected.
The economic effects have also spread to the West Bank, where Israeli restrictions on movement, trade, and supply chains have further strained the economy, the ILO reported.
"The impact of the war in the Gaza Strip has taken a toll far beyond loss of life, desperate humanitarian conditions, and physical destruction," said Ruba Jaradat, ILO regional director for Arab states.
"It has fundamentally altered the socio-economic landscape of Gaza, while also severely impacting the West Bank’s economy and labor market. The impact will be felt for generations to come."
