2.3.2. Socioeconomic Indicators in UNRWA’s Five Areas of Operation The labor force participation rate for Palestinians in the oPt was 44.3 percent in 2019, falling to 40.9 percent in 2020 – perhaps a decrease exacerbated by COVID-19 – and slightly increased to 43.4 percent in 2021.262 According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), this rate is amongst the lowest in the world.263 For refugees in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the rate was 45.5 percent and 39.8 percent respectively, with little distinction between refugees and non-refugees in relation to their labor force participation rate.264 There is no available data that specifically focuses on Palestinian refugees’ labor force participation and unemployment in Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. However, it is sensical to hypothesize that the rate for Palestinian participation is lower than that of the general participation in these regions, and the unemployment rate is higher, due to the discriminatory treatment that Palestinian refugees face (see Chapter 4.2.1). Based on this assumption, the lowest participation rate was found in Jordan, at about 38 percent, while it was about 43 percent in Lebanon and similarly in Syria.265 Moreover, it should be noted that the economic characteristics of Palestinian refugees in both Lebanon and Syria have dramatically changed due to the current economic crisis in the former and the ongoing stability in the latter. The highest female labor force participation rate was found among the Palestinian population in 1948 Palestine at 51 percent, while the lowest rate was in Jordan at roughly 14 percent. It must be noted that the data regarding Palestinian citizens of Israel is not limited to IDPs, but includes the total Palestinian population. 261 The labor force participation rate is defined as the proportion of employed and working persons above the age of 15 to the total population of that age. Employed persons include everyone who has worked for at least one hour within a set reference period for cash or in-kind payment, as well as those temporarily absent from a job they perform on a regular basis. The unemployment range is defined as the proportion of unemployed persons among the total labor force. Unemployed persons include everyone who did not work in the set reference period, not even for one hour, although they were available for work and actively sought work during that period. 262 PCBS, Palestinian Labor Force Survey Annual Report: 2021 (PCBS 2021) [hereinafter PCBS, Labor Force Survey] <https:// www.pcbs.gov.ps/Downloads/book2605.pdf> accessed 3 October 2022. 263 International Labour Office (ILO), The situation of workers of the occupied Arab territories: Report of the Director-General - Appendix 2021 (ILO 2021) ILC.109/DG/APP < https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/--relconf/documents/meetingdocument/wcms_793285.pdf> accessed 3 October 2022. 264 PCBS, Labor Force Survey (n 262). 265 The data represents the estimation for the entire population of Jordan; see The World Bank, ‘Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15-64) (modeled ILO estimate)’ (ILO, June 2021) [hereinafter World Bank Labor Force Participation Rate] <https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.TLF.ACTI.ZS> accessed 3 October 2022. 55 Chapter Levels of labor force participation and unemployment rates indicate the level of economic wellbeing of a population.261 High rates of labor force participation and low unemployment are indicators of a healthy economy that, in turn, provides a good quality of life for the resident population. Low levels of participation in the labor force and high unemployment are related to low-income levels, high poverty rates and unhealthy living conditions. 2 2.3.2.1. Labor Force Participation, Unemployment Rates, and Dependency