Employment service: Young Ethiopian-Israelis struggling to find work
The latest figures were published by the Employment Service on Sunday, ahead of the Ethiopian-Jewish holiday of Sigd, which begins on Tuesday evening.
By EYTAN HALONA MEMBER of the Ethiopian Jewish community in Israel wears a medallion with the Star of David as he takes part in a ceremony marking the holiday of Sigd.(photo credit: REUTERS/AMIR COHEN)
Young Israeli adults of Ethiopian origin struggle more than the average young Israeli to find employment, figures published by the Israeli Employment Service have revealed.Among Israelis born in Ethiopia who claimed unemployment benefit in 2019, some 35% were aged 25- to 34-years-old. Among the wider Israeli population, 28% of claimants were of the same age, the data showed.Older members of the Ethiopian community also struggled to secure employment, with 35- to 44-year-olds representing 34% of all Israeli claimants who were born in Ethiopia. Among the wider population, 26% of those seeking assistance were aged 35-44.Among claimants of unemployment benefits in 2019, 59% were women and 41% were men, compared to 55% of women and 45% men in the wider population.The latest figures were published by the Employment Service on Sunday, ahead of the Ethiopian-Jewish holiday of Sigd, which begins on Tuesday evening.While the share of young Ethiopian-Israelis claiming unemployment benefits is higher than the national average, the Employment Service has witnessed a major decline in Ethiopian claimants and jobseekers in recent years.In 2019, a total of 3,951 monthly jobseekers attending the Employment Service’s centers nationwide were Israelis of Ethiopian origin, representing a 40% decline in the average number of monthly jobseekers since 2013, which stood at 6,587.During the same period, there has also been a 63% decrease in the number of Ethiopian-Israelis seeking income assistance, falling from 4,084 people in October 2013 to 1,514 in October 2019.The number of unemployment benefit claimants also dropped by 19%, from 2,745 in October 2013 to 2,223 in October 2019.“The statistics in the report prove that the hands-on activities of the Employment Service are producing high-quality results and that the continued investment in the Ethiopian community will continue to reduce the gaps in Israeli society,” said Employment Service director-general Rami Garor.“At the same time, we must continue as a society to work at all levels, and bring about the best possible integration of Ethiopian community members, especially women and the younger generation, into society and the job market in particular.”According to data also published on Sunday by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), there were approximately 151,800 Israelis of Ethiopian origin living in the country at the end of 2018. A total of 86,900 were born in Ethiopia and 64,900 were born in Israel to Ethiopian parents. Last year, 208 Ethiopians arrived in Israel, both through the Law of Return and through family reunion procedures.The city with the highest Ethiopian population in 2018 was Netanya, home to 11,000 Israelis of Ethiopian origin. The city with the largest share of Ethiopian residents was Kiryat Malachi, where 16.3% of all inhabitants were of Ethiopian origin.
