A survey of more than 500 Israeli high-tech companies shows that hiring in the sector has not frozen during the war, but has shifted to a more cautious and targeted pace.
The data, compiled by Israeli high-tech recruitment firm GotFriends, found that about half of companies continue to hire almost as usual, roughly 35% have accelerated recruitment and only about 15% have temporarily frozen hiring processes.
Shiri Vax, CEO of GotFriends, said the public perception of a stalled job market does not reflect what companies are actually doing. “In periods of uncertainty, there is sometimes a sense that the market has frozen, but our data shows a different picture,” Vax said. “Most high-tech companies continue recruiting even during wartime, just in a more focused and cautious way.”
“Some companies slowed processes for operational reasons,” she added. “At the same time, we see quite a few companies continuing to operate at a regular pace and even some accelerating hiring. The Israeli tech industry has repeatedly proven it can keep operating under complex conditions. The jobs are still there and processes are still moving forward, just at a different pace and with slightly different working methods.”
According to the survey, about 15% of companies have temporarily paused recruitment processes. In most cases, the reason is not a lack of need for employees but operational challenges caused by managers and recruitment staff serving in military reserve duty, or by the strain of managing family life under emergency conditions. In many cases, the pause is expected to be temporary, with the positions likely to reopen once conditions stabilize.
Meanwhile, about 50% of companies are continuing to recruit almost as usual. Positions remain open and hiring processes are advancing, though in a more focused way — mainly with particularly strong candidates or with applicants who had already begun the hiring process before the war began.
The most notable finding concerns another group of companies: roughly 35% are accelerating recruitment. In many cases these are smaller startups, though not exclusively.
The cancellation of nonessential meetings has freed time for managers to focus on critical tasks, with hiring among the most important. At the same time, the rapid shift to Zoom interviews has allowed recruitment processes to continue even when employees and managers are located in different parts of the country.
A similar pattern appears among job seekers. About 20% have temporarily paused their job searches, mainly due to military reserve service or increased family responsibilities during the current emergency.
Most candidates, however, continue to look for work as usual. For employees who were recently laid off or are seeking a career change, any delay in the process can be significant, prompting many to continue attending interviews and exploring opportunities.
According to the company, high-tech firms cannot halt activity for long periods. Development must continue, clients are waiting for products and services, and software products do not pause because of security conditions. As a result, even during challenging periods recruitment may change, but it does not stop.
The overall conclusion from the data is that the market is becoming more cautious but continues to operate alongside Israel’s security reality. Fewer hiring processes are beginning from scratch, while more companies are advancing candidates already in the pipeline and relying more heavily on digital tools to conduct remote interviews.
For job seekers, the message remains clear: the positions still exist and recruitment processes continue, even if at a somewhat different pace.
GotFriends is Israel’s largest high-tech recruitment firm. The company’s recruiters maintain professional networks with leading high-tech companies and startups and offer job opportunities across some of the sector’s most in-demand fields. Each year, the company assists thousands of candidates as they move to the next stage of their careers.