Over 20,000 register for unemployment in first days of lockdown
Since the less intensive lockdown began in late December, more than 80,668 people have registered as unemployed.
By ZEV STUBIsraeli self-employed protest the lack of financial support from the Israeli government in times of Corona, when many find themselves unemployed, on Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv, July 7, 2020. (photo credit: MIRIAM ALSTER/FLASH90)
The effect of Israel’s intensified lockdown is already being felt in the economy. Since it went into effect on Friday, some 20,742 people have registered as unemployed, the Employment Service reported Sunday.Since the less-intensive lockdown began in late December, more than 80,668 people have registered as unemployed, the Employment Service said. They have joined nearly 800,000 other Israelis seeking jobs.Economists had warned that the lockdown would result in 100,000 unemployed and a cost to the economy of about NIS 3 billion per week. The current lockdown is expected to last at least two weeks and likely longer as Israel tries to reign in surging COVID-19 infection rates.Those numbers do not include the self-employed workers and small businesses whose livelihoods have been devastated by the pandemic. Service providers in the fields of tourism, entertainment and restaurants have been among the hardest hit. The government recently approved an economic package that includes grants of up to NIS 9,000 for many small businesses. But that is of small consolation to some 80,0000 businesses that closed in 2020.Experts are worried that the damage to Israel’s economy will continue long after the lockdowns end. Over the past year, Israel’s unemployment rate has fallen from a healthy 3.4% in December 2019 to about 15% now, after reaching as high as 22% in April.The continued recession has pushed thousands of Israelis from middle class to poverty, with people in low-skilled jobs, young workers and those near retirement age hit the hardest, a recent report by the Taub Center showed.Moreover, the closure of schools costs Israeli households about NIS 850 million per week, as at least one parent in about 70% of Israeli families had to reduce work hours to take care of children, according to a recent study by the Berl Katznelson Foundation.Returning to full employment will probably take a number of years. The Finance Ministry projects that the unemployment rate will range between 7.2% and 10.2% a year for a few years and gradually decline after that.
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