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A review by the chief economist at the Ministry of Finance indicates that in Israel, the corona crisis did not lead to a wave of resignations and a mass exit from the labor market. According to the review, as of June 2022, the employment and participation rates in Israel have somewhat exceeded their pre-crisis level. The employment rate of those aged 15 and over in June 2022 was 61%, 0.1 percentage point higher than before the crisis, and the participation rate (63.4%) exceeded its pre-crisis level by half a percentage point. Nominally, the number of participants in the labor market in June...

The use of credit cards abroad will soon be added to the list of products that are becoming more expensive in Israeli life: a six-year dispute between the credit card companies and the tax authority may soon end in a compromise, the consequences of which could make the fees for using credit cards abroad more expensive. In December 2016, the Tax Authority issued an assessment to the credit card companies that mainly deals with the payment of VAT for income from credit card transactions carried out abroad, as well as online purchases on websites abroad. When a customer carries out such...

The Supreme Court today (Wednesday) shortened the sentence of the former Deputy Minister of the Interior, Faina Kirschenbaum from ten to seven and a half years in prison. Kirschenbaum was convicted of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in the Israel Beitenu case. In addition to this, the judges also shortened the sentence of Rami Cohen, the former director general of the Ministry of Agriculture who was convicted in the case of accepting bribes and other crimes - from 30 to 18 months in prison

The Cyber, Emergency and Security Unit and the Chief Economist Division at the Ministry of Finance continue to strengthen the long-standing relationship and cooperation with the US. Further to the meeting of Finance Minister Lieberman with the US Deputy Treasury Secretary, Wally Adeyemo, in November 2021, in which they discussed the need to strengthen the resilience of systems, organizations financial and deepening cooperation on the subject, today (Tuesday) a cooperation agreement (MOU) in the cyber-financial field was signed between the ministries of finance of Israel and the USA. On the...

The relative security calm in Kiev and in large parts of Ukraine and the shift of the fighting to defined areas encourage the Israeli high-tech companies to return and recruit workers in Ukraine and even launch broad campaigns to absorb workers, with an emphasis on development positions. The company Optimove, which develops advanced marketing technologies for the companies' existing customers, currently employs 30 people through agencies in Kiev and Twiniitsa

Less than two weeks before the start of school, negotiations between the Ministry of Education and the Teachers' Union, which represents elementary and middle school teachers, are still stuck. Both sides are intensifying the tone towards September 1, and the pressure in the corridors of government is increasing in an attempt to prevent a strike - certainly during an election period. Now the Ministry of Finance presents another offer for teachers, the third in number. In the core controversial issues—mainly the starting salary of teachers—the Treasury did not improve its proposal. The...

After the peaks in demand for high-tech registered last year, new data indicate a one-year low in the number of vacancies in the industry. The vacancy report for May-July published by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) shows that the number of vacancies for engineers in general decreased by 8% to 14,963 in July compared to the previous month, and that the number of vacancies for software developers decreased by a more significant rate of 11% , for 10,130 jobs. This is the second month in a row in which the number of jobs in high-tech is decreasing, after about three months in which the...

The unemployment rate in Israel increased slightly in July, but it is still low: from the data published by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), it appears that the narrow unemployment rate increased in July to 3.7%, which is 159.5 thousand people, compared to a rate of 3.4% measured in June, which is 146.5 A thousand job seekers. Meanwhile, the employment rate also decreased, from 61.2% in the previous month to 60.9%, which is 4,195,800 employed. However, the number of unemployed and the unemployment rate are still lower than on the eve of the Corona crisis at the beginning of 2020

The CEO of Carrefour Israel, Uri Kilstein, is leading a NIS 50 million streamlining process in the company. Kilstein's presentation to the company's managers held on Sunday indicates that the plan will include layoffs, closing branches, and changing suppliers. The move is being made in a chain that is still branded under Beitan and Mega wines, in preparation for the transition to the Carrefour brand. The plan includes reducing the number of employees, currently numbering about four thousand, by 200-300 branch employees, most of whom are temporary workers and personnel workers. In addition,...

The ICL company managed by Raviv Zoler reports on a major deal - the company signed a memorandum of understanding for the supply of potash in Europe. The identity of the customer was not disclosed, but according to estimates, it is the Norwegian capital. This is an activity of 300 thousand tons per year and given the price of potash, it is a transaction with a financial scope of approximately 220-240 million dollars. This deal comes against the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine war and the suspension of purchases from Russia and Belarus. Europe sanctions Russia and this may have transferred...