activities. The result is an over-reliance amongst ex-Gazans in Jerash on low-paid, irregular, and seasonal jobs in their outside-camp work: a remarkable 20% of employed exGazans in Jerash reported being in irregular and/or seasonal work, compared to 7% of both ex-Gazans and non-ex-Gazans in other camps. We now turn to what such work entails. Informal, seasonal and irregular work Agriculture Given the high proportion of seasonal workers in the camp, agriculture — and agricultural work — is an essential part of the economy of Jerash camp. Whilst Jerash governorate has higher than average agricultural employment, ex-Gazans in Jerash camp are three times more likely to work in this sector than residents of Jerash governorate as a whole. Both survey data and interviews suggest that only a small proportion of these agricultural workers are employed in skilled work, while the vast majority are engaged in basic unskilled work, such as assisting with the harvest. Indeed, compared to other sectors, those employed in agriculture primarily have low educational attainment (nine in ten have basic schooling or below), although they may well reside in households where other members hold higher degrees (four in ten agricultural workers reside in households where at least one member has secondary or higher education). As mentioned in chapter 6, agriculture is one of the two main sectors of work for exGaza women in Jerash camp (the other being education, health and social work) and as many as one third are employed here. However, because so few women take on paid employment, these women only make up about 30% of all Jerash ex-Gazans in agriculture/farm work. The relatively low pay and seasonal and irregular nature of farm and agricultural work is a key factor in the low income of those working primarily in this sector. Explaining the working pattern of his older brother working in the Jordan Valley, a student explained: ‘They don’t work every day; they work once a week sometimes — it depends on work, it’s not certain’126. Whilst some families had long-standing seasonal employment agreements with the same landowner, having harvested olives, tomatoes or apricots for many years, others seek harvesting work on a daily basis. A common strategy (for both men and women) is to congregate next to the mosque/police station in the camp at dawn, where owners can come to fetch the required number of workers, particularly for picking olives. Further employment is arranged on an ad hoc basis, as explained by this elderly woman: Now, for example, [if] the woman goes the first day and the farmer sees her work and is happy with it, he will tell her to come again. […] The people that go and work and the landowners are happy with their work — he will tell them to come back 127. Remuneration also varies. Families with long-standing agreements, particularly to harvest olives on farms adjacent to the camp, are often paid in kind, the owner usually getting two thirds of the harvest and the family one third. Such agreements may take the form of a daman arrangement, whereby the land is effectively leased to an ex-Gazan (or may be purchased in the name of, or in partnership with, a Jordanian), who oversees all stages of agricultural production, with the landowner taking an agreed proportion of the produce, adjusted according to whether he provides water, electricity, and other necessities. Mobilizing the whole family to pick olives was thus a strategy employed to complete the harvest swiftly. Daily labour during harvesting, including of olives and wheat, commonly pays 10 to 13 JD per day for young men and 8 to 10 JD for women (working from 6 am-1 126 127 Focus-group discussion with male youth, Manshiyyeh, 10 February 2016. Female, age 30, Jerash camp, 17 January 2016. ‘Just getting by’ Ex-Gazans in Jerash and other refugee camps in Jordan 97