Mada's Research Papers

Summary:
This study investigates the increase in unemployment rates and decrease in labor force participation of the Palestinian minority in Israel, over the last decade. The publication attempts to answer the question why the Palestinian citizens in Israel experience higher rates of unemployment and exclusion from the labor market than the Jewish population? In order to answer this question, the study describes the main changes in the Israeli economy, and examines the elements that affected the Arab minority more than the Jewish majority during the 1990s.

• the Jewish mass immigration from the U.S.S.R;
• the reconsideration of the State's role in the economy, privatization and economic liberalization, restructuring the Israeli economy, the emergence of the new economy and new hi-tech industry, and the elimination of the "old-economy" and "old industry";
• importing foreign workers to Israel;
• The economic crisis and economic slowdown from 1997.

Furthermore, the research argues that these changes affected the Arab minority more than Jewish citizens in regards to the segmentation and the split labor markets in Israel. The Arab minority are concentrated in the periphery labor market in Israel, and also in the local ethnic market (work enclave), which are under-developed and depend on the national market. The Arab minority are excluded from lucrative jobs, are over-represented in the secondary labor market (low capacity and dead-end jobs) and in the economic sectors characterized by frequent layoffs, lack of advanced opportunities, low wages and poor working conditions. During an economic crisis, these workers are the first to loose their jobs.

The results of the research indicate that the Arab minority are more vulnerable and suffer from the changes in the Israeli economy more than Jewish citizens, especially in terms of rates of unemployment and withdrawal from the labor market.

The research includes six sections:

• Presentation of the theoretical framework;
• Profile of unemployment during the 1990's;
• The main characteristics of local Arab labor markets;
• Description of the main work related difficulties (unemployment and non-participation) experienced by the Arab minority during the 1990's;
• Concentration of Arab women in the labor market;
• Arab men in the Israeli labor market and the difficulties they face.