The number of job seekers six months after the war is 1.4 times higher than their number in March 2023, the employment service reports today (Sunday). In the evacuated settlements the number of job applicants is 3.3 times higher.
The unemployment record was recorded in November, when the number of jobseekers stood at 331 thousand, and since then it began to decrease consistently and gradually. The employment service expects that the end of the eligibility of many registrants for unemployment benefits will continue the trend.
When looking at the settlements that were evacuated in the north of the country and in the south, it can be seen that the number of jobseekers from them was 7,400 in November, compared to 2,500 in March 2023, and contrary to the general recovery trend, it continued to rise and stood at 8,300 in March 2024. Unlike all jobseekers, the evacuees’ entitlement to unemployment benefits was extended until the end of the evacuation period.
As in other crises, the group most sensitive to the impact of the war on the labor market were young people up to the age of 34, whose proportion increased to 37.6% of all jobseekers in November 2023. Their occupational sensitivity in crisis situations stems from their employment at higher rates in industries affected by the war. With the market’s adjustment to wartime routines, among other things, the return to work of many of the workers who were sent off to work at the beginning of the war, their rate dropped consistently, until it stood at 28.7% in March 2024, close to their rate in March 2023, 27.4%.
Women are also more exposed in the employment aspect to crisis situations, and their rate among job seekers in November 2023 was 54.7%. This sensitivity stems both from their employment at higher rates in industries affected by the war, and from the shutdown of the education system. As a result, there was an increase in the rate of mothers of dependent children, that is, up to the age of 18, in November 2023, compared to a decrease in the rate of fathers of dependent children. With the recovery of the market and its entry into a war routine, both the proportion of women and the proportion of mothers with dependent children among jobseekers decreased and stood at 52.4%, compared to 53% in March 2023.
The proportion of non-Orthodox Jews among job seekers increased at the height of the crisis, November 2023, and stood at 59.8%. With the recovery of the market and its return to normal, their rate decreased and stood at 56.9% in March 2024, still higher than March 2023, when it stood at 55.2%.
The impact of the war was more evident among workers with a medium level of professionalism, whose rate increased from 33.3% in March 2023 to 36.5% in November 2023. With the recovery of the market and its entry into an emergency routine, their rate decreased to 33.9% in March 2024. This increase at the height of the war was due to decreases in the rate The unprofessional workers and the very professional workers. On the other hand, in March 2024 the decrease in the proportion of unprofessionals continued, and the proportion of highly professional workers rose to 27.5% compared to 23.1% in November and 24.3% in March 2023.
The manual laborers who were found to have greater occupational sensitivity were sales workers, personal therapists and general clerks and typists. These handymen, apart from the personal therapists, registered a recovery when the market entered a war routine, and returned to the rates that characterized them before the war.
With the outbreak of the war, the rate of unemployment claimants who earned more than NIS 8,500 rose to 55.4%, compared to 46.4% in March 2023. However, with the recovery of the market and its return to normal, their rate decreased and stood at 43.2% in March 2024.
