Government

A slight and disappointing decline was recorded in unemployment in June, despite the end of the unemployment benefit extensions at the end of that month. The unemployment rate according to the CBS 'extended calculation fell from 9.8% in May to 9% in June, a decrease of only 25,000 unemployed. The unemployment rate according to the limited calculation used by the Treasury has dropped from 6.8% to 6.6% and in only 5,000 people. This is according to data from the Labor Force Survey of the Central Bureau of Statistics for June. The real test of the economy will be whether there will be a big...

The Minister of Finance, Avigdor Lieberman, and the Minister of Agriculture, Oded Forer, are promoting a plan to reduce tariffs on fruit, vegetables and eggs, with the aim of opening up the market to imports. The egg industry is currently planned and consumer prices are monitored by the state. There are imports of fruits and vegetables, which usually leads to rising prices. Tomatoes occasionally have duty-free imports to balance market prices when they are high. According to farmers, opening the market to duty-free imports will hurt agriculture in Israel - the heads of the regional councils...

The International Fund for Compensation from Oil Pollution has approved the Ministry of Environmental Protection's request for compensation for the extensive tar pollution that hit the shores of Israel in February. All member states of the Fund's Board of Directors unanimously supported the proposal of the Fund's Director and the Secretariat to approve compensation payments to Israel for the damage to the beaches. Israel, which has been a member of the fund since 2006, estimated the direct expenses as a result of the pollution at NIS 50 million, with the next step being the establishment of...

After lengthy discussions in the government, Naftali Bennett this evening (Sunday) approved the outline prepared by the Ministries of Health and Education for September 1. According to the outline, which still needs to get the corona cabinet approval and will only apply if there is no closure, classes will open as usual from kindergartens to twelfth grades, under six "layers" of protective actions, including serological tests starting later this week, speed tests to be provided to parents, tests Initiated in schools in orange and red localities, observance of the rules of the corona - and...

Significant news for Holocaust survivors: Their annual pension will increase by more than NIS 2,500. A memorandum of law to increase the annual grant for Holocaust survivors has been circulated for public comment. As part of the budget discussions, Deputy Prime Minister Yair Lapid, Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Minister of Social Equality Meirav Cohen agreed to increase the annual grant for Holocaust survivors. Today, the Ministry of Finance raised for public comments a memorandum of law stating that the annual grant transferred to Holocaust survivors will increase to the amount of...

The IEC reported a loss in the second quarter of 2021. This, when in the background there was an increase in demand for electricity compared to the same period last year. According to the company, the second quarter of the year is usually characterized by low profitability or loss due to "seasonal effects". That is, in the second quarter, which occurs in the spring months, power consumption is generally low due to the mild weather. The company reported a loss of NIS 33 million in the second quarter, compared to a loss of NIS 474 million in the second quarter of 2020. In the first half of...

With the support of the Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett, the Minister of Finance, Avigdor Liethberman, the Minister of Economy and Industry, Orna Barbibai, in coordination with the Minister of Health, Nitzan Horowitz, agreed on a unique project to support the medical staff who are at the forefront of dealing with the Corona and businesses

According to data from the Employment Service published Monday, four of the five only cities in which the rate of unemployment claimants higher than 10% is registered are Arabs, and one of them is mixed. These are the cities of Umm al-Fahm (with an unemployment rate of 17.8% in July), Rahat (17.3%), Nazareth (12.9%) and Shefar'am (10.5%). The mixed city of Acre is the fifth city with a unemployment rate higher than 10% - with 12.7%. Only in three cities was there a decrease in the number of job seekers at a rate of less than 20% - two of them Arabs (Umm al-Fahm with 7.5% and Rahat with...

If you were hoping to find a green country to spend your holidays in, you may want to make an alternative plan - and this time not because of the Corona restrictions: the Histadrut recently declared a labor dispute in the aviation industry, amid a severe employment crisis. According to the Histadrut, the airlines, which have already laid off thousands of workers and laid off many workers, are now seeking further mass layoffs, and as a result the conflict has been declared. The conflict is relevant to El Al employees, Arkia employees, Israir pilots, and employees of the Airports Authority....

On Friday evening, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett described the meeting with US President Joe Biden as "excellent" - and invited him to visit Israel after overcoming the spread of the Delta strain. "It felt like we had known each other for a long time," Bennett said. "I found a leader who loves Israel, knows exactly what he wants - and is also attentive to our needs." The prime minister said that along with him, Biden was also determined that Iran would never be able to reach nuclear weapons, and said he was happy that the target had been agreed on by both sides to work in the near future...