Although figures released on 31 July by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) show significant increases in productivity in some sectors, others have fallen dramatically.

Productivity in mining and quarrying, a long-standing staple of Palestinian industry, dropped 5.8 per cent during the second quarter of 2008, while textile manufacturing fell almost 10 per cent.

These falls were offset by a 28 per cent rise in publishing and printing, and a 14.7 per cent increase in the production of coke and refined petroleum products.

Overall, the PCBS figures show only a 0.79 per cent rise in total industrial productivity since the start of the year, and a rise of just 0.26 per cent compared with the first half of 2007, as the economy continues to stagnate.