MAS’s Quarterly Social and Economic Monitor, Volume 18

Economic activity: Palestinian GDP witnessed an overall increase of 6.4% in the 2^nd quarter of 2009 compared with the 1^st quarter of 2009. Consequently, GDP per capita also increased, by 5.6% for the same period.

Labor market: Labor force participation rate in the Palestinian Territories (PT) increased in the 2^nd quarter of 2009 reaching 41.7%. But the increase was just in the West Bank (WB), while the rate in the Gaza Strip (GS) witnessed a decrease. Unemployment decreased to 22.2%. In the same quarter, average daily wages increased by 4% and 2.9% in WB and GS, respectively. Vacancies advertised in newspapers increased by 11.7% when compared to the previous quarter.

Public Finance: Government revenues totaled $356.4 million in the 2^nd quarter of 2009, 27.3% of which were domestic revenues. Total public expenditure decreased by 12.1% to $626.2 million in the 2^nd quarter of 2009 compared to the previous quarter.

Banking developments: Credit facilities formed 35.1% of total bank deposits during the 2^nd quarter of 2009. Credit facilities increased by 14%, reaching $2.1 billion. In comparison with the 1^st quarter of 2009, banks’ assets increased in the 2^nd quarter of 2009 by 2.4%, reaching $7.8 billion.

Palestine Securities Exchange: The Al-Quds (Jerusalem) index witnessed an increase of 2% in the 2^nd quarter of 2009 compared to the previous quarter. During the quarter, services and banks indices witnessed increases while the indices of the insurance, industry and investment sectors have decreased. 54.6 million shares were traded, with a value of $145.5 million. The market value of listed companies amounted to $2.4 billion.

Prices and purchasing power: The Consumer price index (CPI) in PT increased during the 2^nd quarter of 2009 compared to the previous quarter with prices increasing by 0.86%. It increased by 0.52% in WB, while it increased by 1.64% in Jerusalem.

Tourism: At the end of the 2^nd quarter of 2009, 118 hotels were operating in the West Bank and Gaza Strip (WBGS). There were 99,202 visitors during the 2^nd quarter of 2009, 15.2% of them were Palestinians while 34.6% of them from the European Union.

Company Registration: The number of companies registered in the 2^nd quarter 2009 decreased in WB by 10% compared to the previous quarter to 412 companies. The number of companies registered in GS in the same quarter totaled to 87 companies.

Building Licenses: The number of building licenses in WB decreased during the 2^nd quarter of 2009 by 19.2% compared to the equivalent quarter in 2008. The number of licensed dwellings in WB increased, by 9.6%, compared to the equivalent quarter of 2008. Since the 1^st quarter of 2008, there has been no available data for GS.

Israeli Measures: During the 2^nd quarter of 2009, 23 Palestinians were killed, 272 were injured and 878 were arrested. In the same period, crossing points between the WBGS and Israel were fully closed 379 times and the number of temporary military checkpoints in the WB increased by 13.3%, to 1,280. There were 18 cases of settlement activity during the 2^nd quarter of 2009.

Assistance provided to poor families: During the year 2008, cash assistance has been provided 4 times by the ministry of social affairs (MoSA), where each family was receiving 1000 NIS, and the total amount was about 175,139 thousand shekels. The number of families benefiting from cash assistance in each quarter during 2008 was about 35 families. The value of in-kind assistance provided by the World Food Program to MoSA was estimated at 45 million dollars in 2008, where more than 48 thousand families in the West Bank and Gaza Strip were benefiting from this assistance.

Housing in the Palestinian territories: The average housing density in the Palestinian territories reached 1.7 person/room in the year 2008 (1.6 person/room in the West Bank, compared to 1.9 person/room in the Gaza Strip). 12.7% of Palestinian households were living in residential units with 3 or more person/room.