ABSTRACT
The inability of the WBGS economy to absorb its growing labour force has been at the heart of the Palestinian development question and a central factor in explaining labour migration. Between 1967 and 1993, the Palestinian labour force more than doubled, but domestic employment in the WBGS grew by less than 33 per cent (see Chapter 4). Employment in Israel has been key for keeping unemployment in the WBGS at less than 7 per cent between 1970 and 1993, and for sustaining a population that has been growing at more than 2.2 per cent per annum since 1970 (see Chapter 4).
