Israel's economy has lost 950,000 jobs since the beginning of the war on Gaza

Israel has lost approximately 950,000 jobs in its market since it launched a war on the Gaza Strip, in addition to hundreds of thousands who are unable to reach their workplaces in the towns and cities surrounding the Gaza Strip, and in the north on the border with Lebanon.

The Israeli war on the Gaza Strip has entered its sixth week, and has led to massive destruction of the Strip's infrastructure and the killing and wounding of tens of thousands of Palestinians.

In numbers, the total number of workers in Israel is approximately 4 million workers and employees, according to data from the Israeli Bureau of Statistics, while the unemployment rate is approximately 3 percent until the end of last September, that is, a week before the outbreak of war, according to a report by the Anatolia Agency.

Palestinian workers in Israel

 Since the outbreak of the war, which began on October 7, more than 178,000 Palestinian workers have been unable to reach their workplaces in Israel and the settlements.

Data from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics show that 153,000 Palestinian workers from the West Bank and Gaza work in Israel, in addition to 25,000 workers in settlements in the West Bank and Jerusalem.

These workers have been confined to their homes in the West Bank and Gaza Strip since October 7, due to field conditions and the inability of economic sectors to work in light of security tensions.

The average wage of a Palestinian worker in Israel and the settlements is 298 shekels per day ($77), according to the Palestinian census, which means that their monthly wage bill amounts to approximately 1.4 billion shekels per month ($360 million).

Last month, Tel Aviv canceled the permits of 18.5 thousand Palestinian workers from the Gaza Strip, who were working in Israel, while the majority of Palestinian workers from the West Bank still do not know their status.

Join the army

 In conjunction with the Israeli economy losing Palestinian workers, 350,000 Israeli employees and workers left their offices and joined the army to participate in the war on the Gaza Strip and the limited clashes in the north with Lebanon.

Also, about 46,000 Israeli workers were laid off due to the war, according to data issued by the Israeli Ministry of Labor.

In total, approximately 760,000 of the workforce, or about 18 percent of the workforce, are not working for three reasons.

Recruiting foreign workers

Last month, the Israeli Cabinet agreed to bring in 5,000 foreign workers to cover the shortage in the agriculture and nutrition sectors.

However, previous experiments in recruiting foreign workers during the past two decades did not achieve their goals, and the Palestinian worker remained the best in many sectors, most notably building, construction, hospitality, and agriculture.

In light of this reality, JPMorgan Chase said last month that the Israeli economy may contract by 11 percent on an annual basis in the last three months of this year, with the escalation of the war in the Gaza Strip.

The last time Israel recorded this contraction was in 2020, with the economy closed due to the outbreak of the Corona pandemic.