Tourism downturn: Severe blow to Jerusalem workers
During March and April in Jerusalem, 44.5% of workers in the food and tourism sectors filed for unemployment, as compared with 36.4% in the rest of Israel.
By NETTA PORZYCKIUnemploment rate in selected industries, April 2020(photo credit: JERUSALEM INSTITUTE FOR POLICY RESEARCH)
By the end of April, unemployment in Jerusalem was recorded at 22.5%, as opposed to 20% in the rest of the country, according to the National Insurance Institute. The harsher blow to Jerusalem was the result of the loss of work in the tourism industry, which virtually came to a standstill during the coronavirus lockdown.During March and April in Jerusalem, 44.5% of workers in the food and tourism sectors filed for unemployment, as compared with 36.4% in the rest of Israel. The situation was even worse for Arabs in Jerusalem, among whom 55% of those employed in these sectors claimed unemployment.It is noteworthy that the local and public administration sector did not experience significant unemployment. The policy in the public sector was not to put employees on unpaid leave, but rather to declare a “state of emergency,” in which some employees worked from home while others took paid leave. Therefore, the rate of those claiming unemployment in this sector was very low, especially when considering how many workers there are in this sector in Jerusalem (22,853). This policy translated into a more moderate economic crisis in the city than might otherwise have been the case.It is important to acknowledge that a large number of Jerusalem’s Arab are working in construction, some 23% in 2018. Since construction was classified as vital to the economy, this sector was largely unaffected during the lockdown, except for among workers from the Palestinian Authority who could not enter Israel. The rate of unemployment claimants among Arab men working in construction was a relatively low 20%.During March and April, more men than women claimed unemployment: 23.2% vs 21.7%. However, when focusing on these differences and comparing the Jewish and Arab populations, a different picture emerges. Among Jews, 22.3% of women as opposed to 19.4% of men claimed unemployment, while among Arab men, 28.3% claimed unemployment, and only 18.6% of Arab women. It appears that the coronavirus crisis barely affected Arab women’s employment in Jerusalem. But taking into consideration that female Arab employment in Jerusalem is very low (in 2019 only 17.5% of Arab women in Jerusalem were employed), the number of Arab women in Jerusalem’s workforce who were affected was relatively low. Nonetheless, it will likely be very complicated and difficult to bring back those women workers who lost their jobs.Translated by Gilah Kahn-Hoffmann
