Unemployment at the end of May was 23.5%, or 960,000, the National Insurance Institute reports, down from 27.5% at the end of April. During May 206,000 people who had been placed on unpaid leave returned to work, after only 35,000 people had returned to work in April. There are currently 738,000 registered jobseekers indicating that 228,000 more people have returned to work since the start of June.
The Israel Employment Service believes that the unemployment figures in June are less formidable than they seem because some people have not yet reported returning to work. New legislation providing grants to employers for each employee taken back from furlough is also expected to help the matter. Even so, there are concerns that at the current rate that unemployment is falling, it will be difficult to realize the Bank of Israel's forecast of 8.5% unemployment in the second half of 2020.
Minister of Economy and Industry Amir Peretz said, "The data showing the rate of return to work is still unsatisfactory and my concern is that by September there will still be 400,000 (10%) unemployed. Success is turning a crisis into an opportunity and we are working on a broad plan to train workers who will be swiftly integrated back into the workforce."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on June 16, 2020
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