Name: Gaza economy faces collapse as unemployment rate reaches 80%
Uploaded: 2026-01-06T10:30:47.532Z
Duration: 2 min 57 s
Description: Gaza’s economy has plummeted by 87 percent in two years, deepening poverty and leaving thousands without income or resources.

Gaza’s economy has plummeted by 87 percent in two years, deepening poverty and leaving thousands without income or resources.

Jerusalem

The U.S-brokered ceasefire deal in Gaza is holding, after Hamas released the remaining Israeli hostages.

Middle East Conflict

The ongoing conflict in Gaza has pushed the region's economy to the brink, with the United Nations reporting an unemployment rate of around 80 percent—one of the highest in the world. Many residents, including widows and young people, are relying on informal work such as knitting and makeshift solar-powered charging stations to meet basic needs after the destruction of businesses and infrastructure.

Despite these efforts, the widespread loss of formal employment and the collapse of essential services like electricity have left most families struggling to survive. Informal ventures provide only short-term relief, and the economic crisis continues to pose a major challenge for hundreds of thousands of people across Gaza.

Gaza economy faces collapse as unemployment rate reaches 80%

The war in Gaza has pushed its economy to the brink. For many people, survival now depends on skills and small initiatives, rather than formal jobs. Inside her home, Im Mohamed prepares food for her grandchildren. Moments later, she heads out to work. Widowed and responsible for a household of five, Im Mohamed relies on knitting to provide for her family, and sometimes passes on her skills to the next generation. I started learning knitting when I was ten years old. Later, I attended courses at specialized centers. I discovered that I was skilled at the craft and began training others. After my husband passed away, I needed to support my household. I focused on working to provide for my family while improving my skills. Full-scale businesses have expanded, ranging from solar-powered phone charging stations to women knitting baby clothes. They provide households with short-term means of survival, but it's not enough to restore economic stability or generate sustainable, protected employment. With 70 percent of electricity networks destroyed, Gaza's power system has collapsed, forcing people to improvise. For Waseem El-Yazji, a makeshift solar-powered charging station is a fragile lifeline that provides some income but can't solve the power crisis. I opened this charging station to help my family with basic needs, some food, and small expenses. I try to support my household through it. Our home used to have a large supermarket beneath it, but it was destroyed. My charging station depends on solar panels, so if the sun doesn't shine, the charging power is weak, and I can't work for days. Sometimes a whole week passes under clouds without any income. According to the UN, Gaza's labor market has virtually collapsed. The UN says unemployment in Gaza has reached around 80 percent, one of the highest unemployment rates in the world. For many young men and women, jobs are nowhere to be found, forcing them to pace the streets or wait endlessly for a chance to work. I've been looking for a job for months. Even temporary work is hard to find. Every day feels the same. I go from place to place, asking, hoping, but there is nothing. Families are finding ways to survive, but these informal ventures are no solution to the economic crisis. With hundreds of thousands of people still out of work, unemployment remains a massive challenge across the Strip.

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Gaza economy faces collapse as unemployment rate reaches 80%

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