After a decade of rapid growth in Israel’s high-tech workforce, employment in fields like data analysis, e-learning, life sciences and agritech dropped by 7% to 9.5% in 2023 and 2024, while cybersecurity jobs rose by 9%, according to a new report by the RISE Israel research institute and IVC.
The report highlighted a broad slowdown across all company types, hindering university graduates’ integration into the industry. Although this stagnation is not unique to Israel, the country’s high-tech sector, which employs the world’s highest proportion of workers relative to the total workforce, amplifies the economic impact.
“The past two years show near-total stagnation in employment due to the global recession, domestic instability and prolonged war,” said Dr. Assaf Patir, RISE’s chief economist.
The decline primarily affects business roles, with a 6.6% drop, and administrative and operational position down about 4%. Sales and marketing roles fell by 7%, and human resources jobs by 8%, signaling companies’ reluctance to hire in the near term.
Women have been disproportionately impacted, accounting for 40% of those leaving high-tech in 2024, compared to 38% of new hires. Preliminary data for 2025 shows the share of startups founded by teams including women dropped from 20% to 15%. “Groups most vulnerable to high-tech shocks are support role workers and those without academic degrees,” Patir noted.
Non-academic high-tech workers saw a 5.4% employment decline, while those with advanced degrees in business administration and social sciences dropped by about 2%. However, advanced-degree holders in core high-tech fields like computer science grew by 10%, and bachelor’s degree holders saw a slight 0.9% increase.
Despite doubled computer science graduates over the past four years, their absorption into high-tech firms has declined. LinkedIn registration among these graduates jumped from 46% to 70% in two years, likely reflecting intensified job searches.
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The report underscores broader concerns. “The AI revolution is expected to dramatically reshape workforce demand, necessitating a rethink of government human capital policies,” Patir warned.
IVC chairman and founder Guy Holtzman highlighted resilience, noting: “High-tech remains robust, with capital raising and exits showing no decline.” Yet, employment trends raise alarms.
Nvidia’s announcement of a new Israeli development campus, set to employ 20,000 workers, offers hope for reversing the trend, potentially reshaping the sector’s trajectory.