Registered refugees do not have to live in the camp to receive the services. Card-holders living outside the camp are also entitled to camp services offered in the camp. Local employment opportunities are limited. Inside the camp residents have opened all kinds of shops where electrical articles, food and clothing are sold. There are second hand markets, hair parlours and billiard cafes.
Some women work in sewing centres on contracts with Israeli companies.
The construction industry and the big vegetable market, where most of the vegetables is brought from the farmers around Nablus, are two sectors which also provide employment. After the border closure of March 1993 a few workers have been allowed to go back to their work in Israel, where they work in factories, service industries and construction. Other workers try to work in Israel illegally because the salary is higher than in the local market.