Nearly 42,000 new unemployment claims were filed in Israel over the past few days, coinciding with the start of the country’s second nationwide lockdown.
On Friday, Israel imposed its second comprehensive national lockdown, barring Israelis from travelling more than one kilometer from their homes except for ‘essential needs’ and work in occupations permitted under the lockdown.
Only in effect for half a week, the new lockdown has apparently already reversed the downward trend in unemployment.
After peaking at over 27% in the spring, Israel’s unemployment rate fell to 21% in August and continued to fall through September, declining to 18.5% last Wednesday.
Over the past few days, however, the number of new unemployment claims has outpaced the number of workers who found jobs or were returned to work by a ratio of nine-to-one.
After Israel’s last labor market report, released last Thursday, 41,924 new claims for unemployment benefits have been filed, far outpacing the 4,650 workers who returned to work or found new jobs in that same time.
Of the 41,924 workers who filed new claims since Thursday, 38,288 (91%) were workers who had been furloughed without pay by their employer.
There are currently a total of 779,737 unemployed workers on the government rolls, of which 453,066 are on unpaid leave.