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A significant number of working-age Gaza evacuees are expected to have difficulty reintegrating into the labor force following disengagement, according to a study released by the Industry, Trade and Labor Ministry Wednesday.
Of the estimated 1,985 individuals targeted by the ministry's Ashkelon "one-stop" employment center specially set up in June for the evacuees, 10 percent have a relatively low level of education (less than nine years of schooling), and 55% are above the age of 45. Some 12% are both older than 45 and relatively uneducated. Among the older individuals thought to be in need of the center's assistance, a large number are farmers, and are expected to have particular difficulty.
"It won't be easy [for them], to put it mildly," said Beni Fefferman, the ministry's director of planning, research and economics.
The 8,250 Gaza Strip settlers – including 1,500 families totalling 7,500 individuals, alongside 750 singles – include 3,750 working-age individuals (20 to 65 years old), of whom four-fifths, or roughly 3,000, are participating in the work force, the report's authors said, noting that the relatively high level of participation was matched by a near-zero level of unemployment.
At the time of the study, 1,050 individuals resided in Gaza and worked elsewhere, 1,950 both lived and worked in the Gaza Strip, and an estimated 170 worked in Gaza but lived elsewhere. Of those both living and working in Gaza, 1,365 were wage-earners and 585 were self-employed. Two-thirds of the wage-earners worked in the educational sector, and a similar proportion of the self-employed were farmers or provided services for the agricultural sector (such as packing produce).
The ministry estimates that the employment center's target population counts some 1,985 individuals, including 880 wage-earners (the remaining 485 being covered by public-sector employment transfer obligations), 585 self-employed small business owners leaving either factories or agricultural enterprises, 350 evacuees expected to join the workforce due to post-disengagement economic constraints, and the 170 individuals employed in Gaza living elsewhere.
So far, however, only 130 have turned to the Ashkelon job center for assistance. "It appears that the total response on the part of evacuated residents to the assistance offered in this context is very low, particularly among those cases in which attempts at outreach were made among the target population," according to the study.
Four-fifths of those assisted have been directed to the Employment Service, the remainder to Mati – The Center for Fostering Entrepreneurship. The Ashkelon center offers clinics geared towards teaching evacuees how to successfully relocate and remarket their businesses. For other settlers interested in pursuing new careers, there are various training courses, operated and funded by the ministry.
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