UN puts Gaza unemployment at 45% - economy on 'brink of collapse'

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GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- The unemployment rate in Gaza has continued to climb in 2011, reaching 45.4%, UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness told reporters in Gaza City on Wednesday.

At a news conference for the UN Relief and Works Agency, Gunness warned that the increasing unemployment was a sign of a hugely fragile Gaza economy, which he described as on the "brink of collapse."

Israel's continued siege on the coastal enclave, Gunness warned, would push the economy over the edge.

Such high unemployment, the official said, meant "people have less money in their pockets and more despair," adding a caution, that despair in Gaza would give no boost to a peace process when it got back on track. more

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