210,000 unemployed in Israel may effect Netanyahu's fate
Israel, Economics, 7/28/1998

In the month of May, unemployment in Israel surged to a five year peak level: 9.3% of the population is out of work.

This figure, released yesterday by the National Statistic Bureau, means that the number of unemployed persons in Israel is 210,000. In recent months, unemployment has leapt forward dramatically. In February, the figure was 8.6%. It rose in March to 8.8%. In April, the number rose to 9.1%; and the new number shows more unemployment, a rise of 0.2% from the previous figure.

In recent months, the main cause of the increased unemployment has been the low growth in the number of employed persons, relative to the increase of the labor force. This means that new immigrants, discharged soldiers, and housewives who decide to try to join the labor force have entered the work pool, increasing the number of job seekers. A large number of persons in these categories have not been able to find work.

Members of the political and economic frameworks were surprised as even the most pessimistic forecasters never envisioned an unemployment morass the likes of which has taken form in the first half of 1998. The statistics are a source of concern for the prime minister whose close aides are talking now of a possible ousting of finance minister Yaacov Neeman and of replacing him with science minister Silvan Shalom.

Officials in Netanyahu's office said there was no time to wait for the 1999 budget and demanded immediate steps to decrease the rate of unemployment in Israel. Neeman stated that the problem of unemployment is at the head of his ministry's priorities for 1999 and noted that in the context of the 1999 state budget, he would introduce measures that would lead to the containment of unemployment via the creation of new jobs.

With Netanyahu playing tough negotiator with the Palestine government, his major domestic problem today is unemployment. Observers believe it might lead to his defeat in the next elections, whether they are held as scheduled in the year 2000 or earlier.

"I served in a combat unit for three years, and now I'm out of work, unemployed and desperate," said one soldier who finished his military service almost a year ago. The soldier, an immigrant who arrived from Ethiopia eight years ago, has been looking for a job since he left the army but in vain. "Each morning, I get up, and go to the work bureau, or to employment agencies but get the same answer that there is not work for me," he told Yediot Ahronot daily on Tuesday.

Previous Stories:
  Britain denies military cooperation agreement with Israel   (7/27/1998)
  No progress reached, Israelis cast inaccurate reports   (7/27/1998)
  Syria: Knesset's decision considered an announcement of war   (7/25/1998)

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