A third of Israel's job seekers have been unemployed more than a year
The economic safety net plan that went into effect last year when the coronavirus pandemic started had provided job seekers with unemployment benefits through the end of June.
By ZEV STUBFILE PHOTO: People who lost their jobs wait in line to file for unemployment benefits, following an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at Arkansas Workforce Center in Fort Smith, Arkansas, U.S. April 6, 2020(photo credit: REUTERS/NICK OXFORD/FILE PHOTO)
A third of the people who received unemployment benefits in April collected them for 12-14 months in a row, the National Insurance Institute reported Sunday.Thirty-four percent of the 506,000 people who received benefits in April have been unemployed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, it said in a press release. Some 73%, or 370,000 people, have been receiving benefits for six months or more.The average payment for April was NIS 180, the NII reported. The average daily payments were NIS 158 for singles, NIS 191 for married people, NIS 166 for women, NIS 194 for men, NIS 122 for people ages 18-24 and NIS 200 for people ages 35-54, it said.Of job-seekers receiving benefits, about 51% were women, 56% were married, and 32% were single, the report said.Hospitality and food-services workers made up about 53% of those receiving benefits, while those in the arts, entertainment and leisure industry accounted for 31%.The economic safety-net plan, which went into effect last year when the coronavirus pandemic started, provided job-seekers with unemployment benefits through the end of June. Critics said it incentivized people not to go back to work by essentially promising a paid vacation for unemployed workers.After June 30, unmarried people under age 28 will not be entitled to additional unemployment benefits, and job-seekers will be given a maximum number of days they can receive unemployment benefits, based on their age and number of dependents, the NII said.
