Haredim (Ultra-Orthodox Jews) became poorer than Israel's Arabs in 2013, and the relative incidence of poverty among them increased, while the employment rate rose, according to revised figures presented yesterday by Governor of the Bank of Israel Karnit Flug. Flug's figures for employment of haredi men, which came from the Bank of Israel, differed substantially from the results of a 2013 Central Bureau of Statistics survey, also published yesterday. The reason for the difference is probably different definitions.
In her speech, Flug reviewed macroeconomic developments in Israel, with an emphasis on weak and strong points in areas such as employment, productivity, poverty, and higher education. She presented data indicating that in addition to public civilian spending in Israel being low by international comparison, social spending (on health and welfare services, et.) was also low, which affected the ability to provide these services on a high level. She noted the inadequate civilian spending, especially investment in infrastructure, was alarming.
At the end of her remarks, the Governor commented on the actions needed to encourage general sustainable economic growth extending to populations with a low rate of labor force participation, involving an increase in their human capital and earning power, and in productivity. In this context, Flug presented figures showing that the relative incidence of poverty among haredim had risen to 52.1% in 2013, compared with 46.7% in 2014, while the relative incidence of poverty in the Arab sector fell from 54.3% in 2012 to 47.4% in 2013.
The relative deepening of poverty among haredim comes at a time when the trend in participation in the labor force among them is upward. The employment rate among haredi women rose from 58% in 2009 to almost 70% in the third quarter of 2014, while the rate among men rose more moderately, from 42.4% to 44.5%. Among Arabs, the employment rate among men rose from 72.8% in 2009 to 75% in 2013, and among women from 25.1% to 32.7%. According to the Bank of Israel, the employment rate among haredi men was significantly lower than the figure published yesterday by the Central Bureau of Statistics, whose employment survey found a 56% employment rate among haredim (compared with 44% according to the Bank of Israel).
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 15, 2015
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