GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — A number of university graduates protested in front of the Ministry of Labor in Gaza Feb. 18, preventing Labor Minister Mamoun Abu Shahla from entering the building. They were demanding solutions to the unemployment crisis.
On Jan. 28, unemployed university graduates formed a committee to promote their rights to employment in the public sector. Committee spokesman Shadi al-Naqla told Al-Monitor that the ongoing Palestinian division and failure to achieve true reconciliation, in addition to the Israeli blockade, are making the already poor economic situation even worse. Naqla added, “We are not seeking temporary employment opportunities. We are demanding radical solutions to this problem, such as supporting small projects, financing for projects and permanent jobs in vital sectors.”
On Jan. 22, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights published a study on unemployment in Gaza. The study indicated that political changes in the Gaza Strip contributed to increasing unemployment rates, which hit a staggering 46.6% in 2017, exceeding 60% among the youth, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. There are 220,200 unemployed Gazans based on the International Labor Organization’s definition of unemployed.
The study noted that the number of graduates from higher education institutions for the 2016/2017 school year in the provinces of the Gaza Strip amounted to 21,508; 11,601 of them are men and 9,907 women. Currently enrolled students number 85,660.
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