How Many Chareidi Men Work?

Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman has accused chareidim of causing Israel’s financial woes by failing to join the workforce. But a survey by Direct Polls estimated that the 78,960 chareidi men who do not work constitute only 1.85% of the 4.2 million who make up Israel’s workforce.

Many of these chareidim are married, and 89% of their wives work, most of them fulltime and at a percentage higher that the national average.

The survey found that the chareidi population stands at 1,285,000, or 13.5% of the Israeli populace. Most of the chareidim (70.1%) are below 25, and not included among the Bureau of Statistics’ working population.

There are 172,000 chareidim of working age. Of these, 54.3% have full- or part-time jobs, and only 45.7% (79,000) learn full-time. The overall Labor Force Participation Rate in Israel averaged 63.48% from 2012 until 2021.

According to the survey, most chareidim devote the third decade of their lives to learning (20 to 29 years old), and the percentage drops with age. This is without noting that the percentage of chareidim between 25 to 35 who take academic courses is on the rise.

{Matzav.com}