Israel Job Seekers Rise 4,600 to 173,500 in July as Summer Layoffs Distort Recovery
Updated
Updated · The Jerusalem Post · Aug 16
Israel Job Seekers Rise 4,600 to 173,500 in July as Summer Layoffs Distort Recovery
2 articles · Updated · The Jerusalem Post · Aug 16
Summary
173,500 Israelis were registered as job seekers in July, up about 4,600 from June, but the Employment Service said the increase mainly reflects seasonal summer layoffs rather than a renewed labor-market downturn.
40,000 new job seekers registered during the month, including about 8,100 tied to summer layoffs, while May job vacancies rose to roughly 150,200, leaving about four openings for every five job seekers.
Women made up 55.5% of all job seekers and 58% of new registrants, underscoring the effect of education-sector layoffs; post-primary teacher job seekers jumped 43.7% from May to July to about 3,300.
Higher-skilled groups also grew in the pool: academics accounted for 20.3% of job seekers, people from socioeconomic clusters 8-10 reached 20.4%, and tech-sector job seekers rose 3% in two months to about 17,000.
The service said the mix of more unemployment-benefit claimants and fewer income-support recipients points to mostly temporary, cyclical joblessness after spring security disruptions rather than deeper structural weakness.