Labor Market Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the West Bank and Gaza

This paper studies the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on men’s labor market outcomes in the West Bank and Gaza, examining adjustments at the extensive (participation) and intensive (hours of work) margins of the labor supply. Quarterly panel data from national labor force surveys allow observing labor market transitions, job loss and job gain rates, and labor market stocks. The findings show that the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a decline in employment and labor market participation among men in the immediate aftermath of the pan demic. Moreover, the analysis finds evidence of large adjustments at the intensive margin of employment, as working hours declined. The changes in aggregate labor market indicators seem to be driven by an increase in job loss and a decline in job gain in the West Bank and Gaza. Despite the apparent resilience of the labor market, as labor market indicators quickly bounced back to their pre-pandemic levels, the results show that the most vulnerable segments of the workforce, such as informal workers, workers in blue collar occupations, the least educated, and residents in refugee camps, bore a disproportionately heavier burden.