Unemployed Dimona residents protesting
צילום: חיים הורנשטיין
‘Unemployment to hit 7% by 2010'
Number of foreign and Palestinian workers expected to plummet, Industry, Trade and Labor Ministry Director General Raanan Dinur says
TEL AVIV - The unemployment rate will drop to 7-8 percent by 2010, Industry, Trade and Labor Ministry Director General Raanan Dinur said Sunday.
According to Dinur, unemployment is expected to drop to about 8.8 percent within a year, as the market will produce some 95,000 new jobs.
Dinur, who spoke at a Manufacturers Association of Israel meeting, said he estimates the number of foreigners and Palestinians employed in the Israeli market has dropped by some 15,000, on top of the tens of thousands of illegal aliens blocked from entry by the West Bank security fence.
Regarding Manufacturers Association of Israel President Shraga Brosh’s assumption that exports are expected to drop and therefore must be increased artificially, Dinur said his ministry is continually working toward increasing exports.
“The support for exports should not be achieved only through the simple tools of the The Israel Export & International Cooperation Institute,” he said.
Dinur also said he hopes the Knesset would eventually approve the state budget.
“One need not explain what would happen to the country if there is no budget, in addition to the damage that has already been done,” he said.
