Israel’s unemployment rate at lowest in 13 years
The main front page article of today’s edition of Ma’ariv covers the continuing decrease in Israel’s unemployment, now hitting a low of 6.6%. You can find a Hebrew summary here.
Terrific news when you consider that all industries are effected. The article ends on a sour note by saying that a staggering million Israelis are still earning minimum wage, keeping many families below the poverty line.
Union wins cancellation of layoffs at Yediot Achronot
Israel’s largest Hebrew daily (Ma’ariv is #2) will have to take back 8 workers (Hebrew), at least temporarily. The company’s lawyers had showed the judges their client’s need for the layoffs, but the National Labor Court sympathized with the Histadrut that all the laid-off employees’ being union members was a little too convenient.
Nepotism to continue at Israeli government companies
Ha’aretz recounts how Member of Knesset Zevulun Orlev has proposed a bill that would block government companies from hiring employees’ relatives. This comes after a report by State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss showed that, among others, 44 percent of Proteksia LLC Ashdod port employees worked with relatives.Â
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--Jacob Share
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Tags: Israeli-economy, job-market, newspapers
Filed under: Numbers & Statistics
Jacob Share is the founder and SVP of 
One has to be careful with the statistics often quoted by the Israeli media and published without proper explanation by them.
The media often plays the populist card and claims how so many ‘poor’ workers are taken advantage of with either earning minimum wage and/or not full time, when in reality this is a sign of a vibrant economy.
Thank God that there are many jobs that are naturally minimum wage (provide work for people with no or little academic experience) and part-time (virtually everything in retail, perhaps some manufacturing) and frankly, many women actively choose and desire something part-time that will add some money to the family while being able to take care of the kids, even it is minimum wage.
Someone in their 50s doing guard duty or washing offices are required jobs that someone has to do. Briniging in foreign workers for these things is much worse. Did the article say anything about the direct relationship between reducing foreign worker permits to the increased employment situation for locals?
Comment by josh
— January 22, 2008 #
No, it didn’t. Otherwise- good points, josh.
The media often paints a too-simple view, like in the article above, or a too-complicated view, like when you read the Financials.
It’s also true that no one seems to know where the poverty line comes from, which means it can easily be waved as a scare tactic.
Comment by Jacob Share
— January 22, 2008 #