'Summer Fired' and the Cities with the Lowest Number of Job Seekers

Data from the Employment Service for July 2026 shows a seasonal increase in the number of job seekers to about 173.5 thousand, but the downward trend continues and the demand for workers is strengthening with about 150 thousand vacant positions. The increase is mainly attributed to 'summer fired' in the education system, among women and the Haredi society. Geographic gaps persist: high rates in Rahat and Umm al-Fahm, low in Ramat HaSharon and Rishon LeZion.

Data from the Employment Service for July 2026 indicates continued recovery of the labor market, alongside a seasonal increase in the number of job seekers. The number of registered rose from about 169 thousand in June to about 173.5 thousand in July, an addition of about 4.6 thousand. The Employment Service emphasizes that the increase does not indicate a change in direction and is explained by the 'summer fired' phenomenon - a seasonal phenomenon characteristic of the summer months, mainly among education system workers. Out of about 40 thousand new job seekers registered in July, about 8.1 thousand were summer fired, about 20% of new registrants. Meanwhile, the trend figure for job seekers continued to decline from about 177.6 thousand in June to about 171.6 thousand in July. The Employment Service notes that the data is still affected by the exceptional surge of March-April following Operation 'Lion's Roar', and therefore the trend should be examined over time. The recovery is also evident on the demand side: according to the Central Bureau of Statistics, in May 2026 the number of vacant positions stood at about 150.2 thousand, an increase of about 8.4 thousand compared to the previous month. The ratio between vacant positions and the number of job seekers stood at about 0.81, meaning about four vacant positions for every five job seekers. The summer effect is evident in the composition of job seekers: the share of women rose from 54.1% in June to 55.5% in July, and among new registrants women constituted about 58%. The weight of those with academic occupations rose to about 20.3%, but this should not be interpreted as a broad deterioration. The number of teachers in secondary education rose between May and July by about 43.7%, from about 2.3 thousand to about 3.3 thousand. The number of job seekers in high-tech stood in July at about 17 thousand, an increase of about 3% in two months. The number of job seekers from the Haredi society rose in July by about 24.4%, mainly in Haredi localities: in Modi'in Illit from 2.6% to 4.1%, in Beitar Illit from 3.2% to 4.4%, in El'ad from 2.3% to 3.7%, and in Beit Shemesh from 3.5% to 4.3%. Here too, they emphasize that the increase is seasonal. Geographic gaps persist: the highest rates were recorded in Rahat (about 6.0%), Umm al-Fahm (about 5.6%), Acre and Afula (about 4.7%), Kiryat Gat (about 4.6%), and Nazareth (about 4.5%). The lowest were in Ramat HaSharon, Rishon LeZion, and Kfar Saba (about 2.3% each), and in Ra'anana, Holon, Eilat, and Ness Ziona (about 2.5%). The change is also evident in the composition of benefit recipients: the share of unemployment benefit claimants rose from about 55.3% in 2022 to about 73.5% in 2025, and reached a peak of about 78.2% in January-July 2026. The share of income support claimants plummeted from about 40.8% in 2022 to about 22.7% in 2025, and to a low of about 18.7% in the first seven months of 2026. CEO of the Employment Service, Einav Meshosh: "The overall picture is of a labor market that continues its recovery process, even if the path back to normalcy is not uniform across populations and regions."