Israel Employment Service figures for October released today show a sharp rise in the number of people registering as unemployed, particularly after the outbreak of war on October 7. There were 70,000 new registrations in October, 57,500 more than in September. Of these, 42,400 are workers on unpaid leave, 60.3% of the new registrants. The Employment Service counts the number of jobseekers who register with it each month and analyses the figures. This is as opposed to the method of the Central Bureau of Statistics, which compiles unemployment figures on the basis of surveys.
About half the new registrants are aged up to 34.The Employment Service notes a rise in the proportion of registrants who are parents of dependent children. "As the weeks go by, the proportion of parents of children aged under 18 rises. Before the war broke out, parents of dependent children represented 25.5% of new registrants. Since then, the proportion has risen to 40%. Parents, especially mothers, have been forced to stay at home to look after children who have been left without any educational framework." In fact, 59% of the new registrants are women.
The Employment Service does not publish daily figures, but examination of other statistics, those of the National Insurance Institute, last updated on Sunday, reveals that since the start of the war some 47,000 people have been put on involuntary unpaid leave, which gives an average of 1,500 people a day. The figures indicate that the daily rate has in fact been accelerating, reaching a peak last Wednesday, when about 5,000 workers were put on unpaid leave. According to National Insurance Institute figures, from the beginning of October to last Sunday (November 5), some 68,000 claims for unemployment benefit were filed.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on November 7, 2023.
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