Less workers and less profit: Haredi employment report in Israel revealed

The report of the Knesset Research Center, written ahead of the discussion on the issue of examining the suitability and accessibility of the employment market in Israel to the unique needs of the ultra-Orthodox population, was revealed here for the first time.

The report also shows that it is government policy that prevents ultra-Orthodox men from entering the labor market

Between Ashkenazi

14/06/2022

Tuesday, 14 June 2022, 09:18 Updated: 09:31

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The rate of ultra-Orthodox in the labor force in Israel is about 8%, a rather low figure - according to a report written at the request of the "Committee for Special National Infrastructure Initiatives and Jewish Religious Services" by Merav Peleg-Gabay from the Knesset Research and Information Center. An up-to-date state of employment and wage rates among the ultra-Orthodox in various sectors of the economy and the barriers to their integration into the labor market and, at the same time, the government's actions in this area

.

The report also shows that according to forecasts, the rate of ultra-Orthodox in the labor force is expected to reach 26% by 2065, so it is still not a high rate.

In the years 2003-2015, there was a significant increase in employment rates among the ultra-Orthodox population, but while the employment rate among ultra-Orthodox women continued to increase even after 2015, the increase in the employment rate among men has stopped and even decreased since then.

Government and professional sources explained the halt, among other things, by the fact that state budgets and government support for the ultra-Orthodox population have increased and that the exemption from military service for yeshiva members remains at 24 years.

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Anxious men (illustration).

Half of them remain out of the labor force also because of government policy (Photo: ShutterStock)

Women work harder

As of the end of the first quarter of 2022, about half of the ultra-Orthodox men are employed, and the employment rate among them - by self-definition - is 54.5%.

It should be noted that this is a higher figure than among those defined according to the last educational institution where they studied or according to the locality of residence, among whom the employment rate is 50.9%.

It should be noted that the employment rate among ultra-Orthodox men is lower than the employment targets set in a government decision from August 2021, according to which the employment target for ultra-Orthodox men aged 66-25 will be 65% employed in 2030, plus an estimate that it will increase to 70% if the age of military service is reduced. .

It should also be emphasized that in the case of men, whose employment rate is far from the target set for 2030, among ultra-Orthodox women the employment rate is 81%.

That is - already meets the target set for 2030.

Despite the relatively high employment rate among ultra-Orthodox women, only 37% of them are employed full-time, compared with 59% of non-ultra-Orthodox Jews.

As for ultra-Orthodox men, less than a third of them are employed full-time, compared with about three-quarters among non-ultra-Orthodox Jewish men.

The volume of jobs has, of course, a direct effect on the level of the average wage.

High-tech (illustration) What are the barriers to integrating the ultra-Orthodox into the industry (Photo: ShutterStock)

Low income and inability to integrate into high-tech

At the beginning of 2018, the average and median monthly income of ultra-Orthodox men was about 40% lower than the income of non-ultra-Orthodox Jewish men, and the average and median income of ultra-Orthodox women was about 30% lower than the income of non-ultra-Orthodox Jewish women.

The average and median gross hourly wage of ultra-Orthodox women and men was also lower than that of non-ultra-Orthodox Jews.

And what about high-tech?

The rate of employment in the high-tech industry has risen gradually in recent years but is still low.

According to data from the Labor Department in the Ministry of Economy and Industry, their rate among employed persons in the industry in 2019 was 5.5%, and according to data from the Innovation Authority, the proportion of ultra-Orthodox employed persons in 2021 was 3%.

Among ultra-Orthodox men, there is almost no noticeable change in employment rates in high-tech, and in addition, the wage gap between ultra-Orthodox men and non-ultra-Orthodox Jews working in the industry has increased over the years.

Chairman of the Committee for National Infrastructure Initiatives and Jewish Religious Services, MK Yulia Malinowski (Photo: Knesset Spokeswoman, Noam Moskowitz, Knesset Spokeswoman)

who is to blame?

The government, too

The main barriers to the integration of ultra-Orthodox men in the labor market include a significant lack of basic skills, such as knowledge of English and mathematics and digital literacy.

However, there are also barriers related to government policy such as a ban on work or the acquisition of non-Torah education before the age of 24 as a condition for obtaining an exemption from IDF conscription. The meetings and their late entry into the labor market, and in the absence of adequate training. And

there are of course cultural and social difficulties that make it difficult to integrate in wage-intensive industries

. Areas of study and a minority of academic studies, which make it difficult for mobility and professional advancement.

Other barriers common to both sexes include limited transportation accessibility, the lack of tools adapted by employers to locate and classify ultra-Orthodox candidates, and the reluctance of employers to employ ultra-Orthodox for fear that far-reaching adjustments will be required.

The labor arm reported that it runs several assistance programs for integrating ultra-Orthodox into employment - some as part of partnerships with various organizations - that offer counseling, training, mentoring, placement in workplaces and encouraging employers to absorb ultra-Orthodox workers.

The Innovation Authority also publishes information on training programs for the advancement of populations characterized by under-representation in the high-tech industry, including ultra-Orthodox society.

It should be noted that we were not provided with full information on the number of participants in each of the programs and their results.

,: The situation is worrying

, if until now we knew that the employment rate among ultra-Orthodox men is on a stagnant trend, now we see in the report that in recent years the percentage is even declining.

The barriers, whether they are cultural barriers or other problems.Our goal is to look for ways and help the ultra-Orthodox sector enter the labor market with an emphasis on the unique needs of that public.We need to think outside the box in order to find solutions.

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Tags

• religious

• Hi-Tech

• The labor market