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Israel
Prime Minister Netanyahu: Unemployment Rate Among Young People
Lower Than Europe, US
By Israel News Agency Staff Jerusalem, Israel --- December 31, 2012 ... Part of the following was communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser and the Israel Government Press Office to the Israel News Agency. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, today, made the following statement in wake of Israel Central Bureau of Statistics data to the effect that the unemployment rate in Israel declined to 6.7% in November: "I welcome the continued decline in unemployment in Israel, which has been achieved thanks to responsible economic leadership in partnership with Finance Minister Dr. Yuval Steinitz and Bank of Israel Governor Prof. Stanley Fischer. In 2009, unemployment was higher in Israel than it was in Europe. Since then, unemployment in the Euro bloc has only risen whereas the unemployment rate in Israel has only declined. In this period, while the world was dealing with a global economic crisis, over 350,000 additional jobs were added to the Israeli economy." Netanyahu added: "An additional item that should be noted is that the unemployment rate among young people also declined last month in continuation of a downward trend since 2009. Today, the unemployment rate among young people in Israel is significantly lower than in European countries and the US." Despite impressive GDP growth and record low unemployment rates over the past few years, the Israeli government has failed to significantly reduce the number of households living under the poverty level. The Israel National Insurance Institute’s annual poverty report, released at the end of November, stated that in 2011 almost a fourth of all households were living under the poverty line, defined as half the median disposable income per household. Most shocking, perhaps, was the fact that 20 percent of households in Israel which at least one person worked were poor. Before factoring in various welfare benefits, the poverty rate was 32.8%, up slightly from 2010. In 2011 more than 36 per cent of Israeli children were poor, a jump of one percentage point from the previous year. Poverty afflicts more than 400,000 Israeli families – including almost seven per cent of families with two working people. Among developed countries, these numbers are unusually high. Israel has the second-highest poverty rate in the developed world, behind only Mexico, according to statistics from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The global slowdown took a while to impact Israeli companies, with many of them continuing to post growth figures for 2012. But last week trouble finally caught up with Israel's prospering high-tech industry. About 500 Israeli engineers and developers received lay-off notices at companies including Better Place, ECI Telecom, Orbotech and Ceragon. While other high-tech companies are starting layoffs, the IT company Ness Technologies is recruiting 450 employees for its new product development center in Be'er Sheva. The company signed an agreement with city hall to build the center in Be'er Sheva's recently completed high-tech park and has started recruiting workers. The Israel News Agency urges American and European Jews to invest in Israel. Israel is rich in brain power while labor costs remain low. We can reduce poverty and stop the brain drain - Israelis leaving Israel for North America and Europe in search of better salaries if we "become our brother's keeper." Israel is the only home we have. Invest in Israel and keep her strong! We wish all of our readers the very best of health, happiness, prosperity and peace for 2013.
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