According to the CBS, since the economy returned to normal after the third closure, about 100,000 people returned to work in the second half of last month • The unemployment rate stands at 15.4%
People are waiting to enter the employment bureau in Tel Aviv, last year
Photo:
Joshua Joseph
Despite the return of part of the economy to routine after the third closure, there are still hundreds of thousands of unemployed.
According to the Labor Force Survey data for the second half of February and February 2021 of the Central Bureau of Statistics published today (Monday), the percentage of the labor force of non-participants who stopped working due to dismissal or closure from March 2020, plus those temporarily absent from work all week because Causes related to the corona virus and the addition of the unemployed, stands at 15.4%.
In other words, the number of unemployed in Israel in the second half of last February was 639.9 thousand people, ie 15.4% of the number of workers.
This is compared to 18.2% in the first half of February 2021, ie 744.3 thousand.
Compared to the whole of last month, the percentage of unemployed in February was 16.7%, ie 698.5 thousand unemployed compared to 18.0% of the number of workers in January 2021, ie 748.6 thousand unemployed.
The data also show that in the second half of last month, 61.6% of workers are in the labor force, meaning that 4,012,400 people are aged 15 and over.
94.4% of them are employed, ie 3,787,100 people.
38.4% of them are not in the labor force, which means that 2,506,000 people are unemployed.
As of March 2020, 132,400 people had stopped working because of layoffs or due to the closure of their workplace.
The Labor Force Survey is the main source of information on the labor force in Israel, and is conducted on an ongoing basis by the Central Bureau of Statistics.
In the second half of last month, about 9,700 people aged 15 and over were interviewed on a regular basis.
In the same month, about 19,900 people aged 15 and over were interviewed.
The survey population includes the permanent residents of the State of Israel, tourists and temporary residents staying in Israel for more than one year in a row.
The survey allows tracking the development of the labor force, its size and characteristics, the extent of unemployment and more.
The unemployed are aged 15 and over who did not work even one hour in the determining week and did not have a job from which they were absent the entire determining week, actively looking for work in the four weeks prior to the survey interview and who were available for work in the determining week.
Employees who were temporarily absent from work for Corona-related reasons among those aged 15 and over did so due to job cuts, work stoppages and those who indicated in "Other" that they were absent because of Corona, including workers on unpaid leave, if their return to the same employer is guaranteed.
This figure does not include people in isolation, who are considered workers absent from work due to illness.
Non-participants in the labor force, who have stopped working due to dismissal or closure of the workplace since March 2020, are aged 15 and over who have not worked in the determining week and have not been absent from the determining week and have not actively sought work in the four weeks prior to the survey.