Employment Service estimates: By the end of 2020 half a million Israelis will be left without a job

The Employment Service expects Israel to end 2020 with about half a million unemployed. The labor market will take many years to recover from the corona crisis and the phenomenon of prolonged unemployment is expected to expand. This was stated in a report published on Sunday by the Employment Service. The authors of the report warn of a number of dangers in the current government policy that includes only assisting the unemployed without encouraging their return to the labor market and states that the policy encourages the taking of unemployment benefits.
The Employment Service estimates that by the end of 2020, about half a million Israelis (12% unemployment) will be left without a job. "
The authors of the report note that the known risk groups that are feared to remain in the definition of unemployed for a long period of time have been joined by other middle-class groups and workers in industries severely affected by the corona crisis such as tourism and culture. These are low-wage workers, older people and workers with disabilities and young people.
The authors of the report criticize the gap between Israeli policy and the policy pursued in developed countries. "OECD countries implement programs to deal with the corona crisis, which combine the component of compensation for the citizen with the component of integration at work, while Israeli policy has so far focused on the component of compensation and payment of benefits only. Less affordable.
The employment service warns that "the situation today encourages people to stay at home and receive unemployment benefits." They warn that many of the recipients of unemployment benefits may find themselves seeking income support in the coming years. "
It is important to note in this context that the unemployment benefit in Israel is not sufficient for basic subsistence, so relying on it means a life of abject poverty.
The Employment Service notes that about half of the recipients of unemployment benefits in the years 2019-2018 have exhausted the entire period of entitlement (80% or more of the period) under relatively low unemployment data, especially in view of the extension of unemployment benefits until June 2021.
The report notes that "the longer people are out of the workforce, the less likely they are to reintegrate, and the more likely they are to fall into the long-term social benefits path."
The Employment Service recommends moving to a policy of "encouraging a rapid return to the labor market and maintaining proximity to the labor market alongside the development of the human capital of job seekers."
The service recommends moving to different models of part-time financing: financing internship programs in the workplace, financing unemployment benefits for employees whose jobs have been reduced (the German model), division of jobs between workers and supplementing wages from the state (the Canadian model) and continuing incentives. The service also recommends a policy of capital-intensive government projects to create jobs.