This article was originally published by Ma'an News and is republished with permission.

A Palestinian man works in an olive press in the Gaza Strip, where unemployment rates have skyrocketed as an international blockade continues to devastate the local economy. (Hatem Omar, Maan Images)

Palestine's labor force's highest rate of unemployment is among 15-to-29-year- olds, according to a recent survey whose results were released Thursday.

The report, published by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), found that the highest unemployment rate is concentrated among young sectors of the Palestinian population.

Qalqiliya registers the highest un- employment in the West Bank (31.5%), according to the report, which indicates that Tulkarem closely follows the city for the second slot (30.3%).

Hebron's rate of unemployment is at about 1/4th of would-be workers (24.5%), while Jericho and Jerusalem had the lowest rates (13% and 14.2%, respectively).

In Gaza, the highest rate of unemployment is in Khan Younis, at just over half of all Palestinians in the sector (50.1%). Northern Gaza fairs better, but only by about two percent (47.9%).

The highest percentage of unemployed Palestinians are young people. The age group hardest hit is those aged 20-24, with a little less than half unemployed (43.4%). The statistic is distorted due to the disparity between West Bank and Gaza employment rates. Of the same age group, 35.1 percent were unemployed in the West Bank while in Gaza, the same age group represented 58.5 percent.

The results become even more skewed among 15-to-29-year-olds, with 30.5 percent unemployed in the West Bank and 61.6 percent in Gaza. For 25-to-29-year-olds, the odds of being employed were greater, with only 1/4th of the population unemployed in the West Bank (25.2%) and about 45 percent in Gaza (44.9%).