Notwithstanding Israel's impressive economic recovery following three coronavirus lockdowns over the past year and a half, job openings kept climbing, hitting a record high in July, the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) reported on Thursday.
According to data, 134,310 posts still remain open — nearly 5% of all positions on the labor market — compared to 129,208 in June, 122,843 in May, 115,879 in April and 102,363 in March.
The numbers indicate a severe employment crisis despite Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman's order to withhold unemployment benefits to furloughed workers under the age of 45. About 400,000 Israelis were unemployed at that time.
The most severely hit sectors are tourism and food — hotels, restaurants, cafes and bars — with 28,052 positions available, some 2,500 more than in June.
CBS also reported that industry, mining, electricity and water sectors are still missing 13,681 workers, 11,006 in construction, 17,985 in commerce and 16,322 in the information and media sectors.
The health and welfare sectors, which play a crucial part in Israel's pandemic response — reported having 10,596 job openings.
Public transportation, delivery services and the security sector have also seen a hike in job openings over the past month.