The safety net for the unemployed ends in June, and the state is preparing to encourage them to return to work by the summer.
Queue at the employment service
Photo:
Joshua Joseph
Lower unemployment benefits, for a shorter period and encourage return to work - this is the employment service model for extending unemployment benefits for those who do not return to work by July.
As is well known, at the end of next June, the amendment to the legislation to extend the sweeping extension of unemployment benefits to all those who registered during the corona crisis will expire.
Extending entitlement to unemployment benefits was essential during the Corona period, but has recently become a barrier to returning to work.
Therefore, the Employment Service recommends shortening and limiting their extension starting this coming July to anyone who has not returned to work by then, to encourage a return to work along with providing a safety net for those who need it, by removing barriers and placing tools and incentives to support placement.
Principles of the model proposed by the Employment Service: Extended entitlement extension for anyone who does not return to work by the end of June - meaning the extension will not be according to the quota used by law, but will be differentially shortened according to age and marital status.
Also, a reduction in the amount of unemployment benefits that will be extended to all those who have not returned to work by the end of June - to encourage their return to work.
Unemployment benefits will be reduced from August 1 by 10% per month to 50% of full unemployment benefits;
Tightening the employment test for all job seekers, whether registered during the crisis or registered after July 1, so that job seekers will not only be required to report to employment bureaus but also prove job search, as well as encourage participation in courses.
Opening the economy as a barrier
Rami Graur, CEO of the Employment Service, said: “The safety net that was deployed more than a year ago has saved hundreds of thousands of job seekers, but given the immunization rates and opening up the economy has become a significant barrier to returning to work for many job seekers.
The purpose of unemployment benefits is to allow job seekers to devote their time and energy to looking for work and returning to the labor force without being preoccupied with the question of earning a living.
I recommend adopting the employment service model to extend unemployment benefits.
Only in this way can we help bring back the hundreds of thousands of job seekers who will remain after the end of this coming June.
We have a responsibility towards them and towards Israeli society and the economy. "
"Tighten the conditions"
Dr. Ophir Pinto, VP of Research at the Employment Service, reinforces Grauer's remarks: "The safety net - its goal is to allow job seekers to think about ways to return to work, but without a rigid system of conditions for realizing unemployment benefits, it could become a network "Security to block the return to work. In many OECD countries, they understood this and adopted different models."
