The National Insurance Institute is publishing preliminary data today (Tuesday) indicating the effects of the ‘Lion’s Roar’ war on the Israeli labor market. The data shows that women constitute the majority of applications for unemployment benefits and unpaid leave (unpaid leave) since the outbreak of the war.

Unemployment benefits: Since the beginning of the month, 8,449 citizens have submitted new applications for unemployment benefits to the National Insurance Institute, with their cessation of work having begun during March. Of these, 57% are women (4,799 applicants) compared to 43% men (3,650 applicants).

Unpaid leave: Out of all applicants, 953 citizens submitted a request due to forced unpaid leave. The gender gap is particularly prominent in this figure: 72% of those going on unpaid leave are women (689 women compared to 264 men). The National Insurance Institute wishes to emphasize that the unpaid leave arrangement adapted for ‘Lion’s Roar’ – which was announced by the Minister of Finance – has not yet been agreed upon and has not yet passed legislation in the Knesset, and therefore cannot be implemented or addressed at this stage.

Income guarantee: To date, 1,887 applications have been submitted to the National Insurance Institute (731 initial applications and 1,156 repeat applications). Since this benefit is defined as family-related, and in cases of couples it includes both partners, it is not possible to segment this figure by gender at this stage.

The data reflects a broad impact on family units:

Parents with children: 3,809 of the claimants are parents of children under 18, of whom 2,226 are mothers.

Marital status: 4,355 of the applicants are married (2,456 women and 1,899 men) and 4,092 are unmarried (2,341 women and 1,751 men).

Regional distribution: The Central District leads in the number of new applications to the National Insurance Institute (1,978), followed by the Tel Aviv district (1,659) and the Northern district (1,481). In the capital, Jerusalem, 646 new claims were filed.

The National Insurance Institute: “The National Insurance Institute is closely monitoring the changes in the labor market since the start of the war, and is working to maximize the rights of those affected, especially in light of the emerging trend indicating a widespread impact on women. We emphasize that the implementation of the unpaid leave arrangement is conditional on the completion of legislative proceedings in the Knesset, and only upon its final approval can it be put into effect. Once the legislation is passed, the National Insurance Institute will work to advance the computational developments that will be determined according to the arrangement, receive applications from the public, and cross-reference data from employers and other parties. There is no doubt that the employment difficulty and sensitivity in times of emergency are felt, especially as we are a stone’s throw from the Passover holiday.”