Attachments
OVERVIEW:
In November, the economic situation for Syrian refugees in the KR-I, where the vast majority are hosted, continued to be a challenge. While Syrian refugees are able to earn an income participating in cash for work (CfW) activities inside camps, camp residents are severely challenged to find private sector work outside the camps. This is mainly due to geographical isolation from companies or factories. Emergency Livelihood Sector actors offered CfW as well as vocational training. However, with the overwhelming number of internally displaced people (IDPs), capacity and resources in Iraq are stretched and Syrians continue to request additional support to establish small businesses or income generating activities.
Employment rates for Syrian refugees in the KRI appear, on average, to be higher than for displaced Iraqis and impacted host communities. For example, in Erbil governorate 80% of male refugees aged between 15 and 64 are employed. This compares with rates of 53% for displaced males and 70% for men from the host community. In Dohuk governorate, the employment rate for male refugees is 75%, compared to 63% for men from the host community and internally displaced men. However, such figures should not be read to mean that refugees in general have more financial security than IDPs, as they do not have access to elements of Iraqi state support that many IDPs do, such as grants made to displaced families, the Public Distribution System, and salaries for those with public sector jobs (which generally continue to be received, despite displacement). Additionally, reported figures for employment are based on samples and household surveys, and likely obscure under-employment.
Syrian refugees are vulnerable to negative coping mechanisms, such as taking on debts for domestic consumption. The largest share of refugees’ average personal debt was incurred for domestic consumption costs (the second most common coping strategy), rather than the purchase of long-term assets as was the case for impacted host communities. Other coping strategies include receiving aid (the highest number of Syrian refugees) and spending savings (the third highest number of refugees). Data indicates that the income levels for Syrian refuges that live in urban areas is lower than that of IDPs and host communities. At the same time, a large portion of their income is used on rent for housing, which means less of their income is available for other essential needs. If livelihoods opportunities do not improve, the debt vulnerability of refugees is likely to increase.
Refugees living in rural camps have extremely limited opportunities to find employment, and compared with impacted communities and IDPs, refugees are still particularly vulnerable to exploitative and abusive employment practices where work is available. For many refugees, the types of employment they find are low-paying and insecure, or informal. Half of employed refugees and IDPs in Dohuk governorate work in construction, and daily waged labor in agriculture is the second most common job for refugees and IDPs. Beyond the present, there are risks and challenges for the coming years that refugees become locked into a cycle of inferior access to services and inferior work and