The Employment and Earnings of Women in Jerusalem

Shaya Rosenblum

In 2014 the average hourly wage among men in Jerusalem (NIS 45) was lower than the figure for women (NIS 48). In Israel generally, in contrast, the average hourly wage among men (NIS 58) was 19% higher than the average wage among women (NIS 49). In Tel Aviv the discrepancy was even greater, at 24% (NIS 72 vs. NIS 58). Should we conclude, therefore, that women’s status relative to men in Jerusalem is better than their relative status throughout Israel?

The answer, regrettably, is no. Several factors contribute to these wage rates, but simultaneously they also reveal the sorry state of affairs among a significant portion of Jerusalem’s women.

Jerusalem has 166,600 women of working age (25-65), 38% of whom are Arab. Among Arab women, about 22% have an academic education, compared with some 50% of Jewish women. Having a higher education increases one’s earning power, and accordingly, Arab women earn less than Jewish women. The labor force participation rate among Arab women stands at 21%, compared with a rate of 79% among Jewish women. Evidently, given the current levels of education, if the participation rate of Arab women were to increase, the average hourly wage of Jerusalem’s women would decrease.

Thus, we could envision a situation in which the media reports on a decline in the earnings of Jerusalem’s women (although no individual woman actually suffered a loss of income) because of increased participation on the part of women who lack a higher education and earn less than the current average hourly wage.

Similarly, increased employment and labor force participation rates among workers at the low end of the salary spectrum can also have a negative impact on the average hourly wage. In reality, individual wages might not have changed, and the living standards of those entering the workforce might actually have improved, but the average wage – the figure typically reported in the media – might have declined.

It is very important, therefore, not to rely on just one indicator in assessing the current state of affairs. Every statistic must be examined in its particular context.

Translation: Merav Datan

The Work Force

Alon Kupererd
Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research   en.jerusaleminstitute.org.il

The term “work force” describes the persons in the population, aged 15 and over, who are employed or unemployed and seeking employment. At the end of 2014, 69% of Israeli Jews aged 15 and over participated in the work force, meaning they were employed or seeking employment, in comparison to 47% among the Arab population. The rate of unemployed persons among Jews in Israel was 6% of the work force, and 8% among Arabs. 
In Jerusalem the rate of participation of Jews in the work force was 59% - lower than the average for Israel. Similarly among Arabs, the rate of participation in the work force in Jerusalem was comparatively low, at 40%.
When analyzing the data by gender we see that among Jewish men the rate of participation in the work force in Israel was 72%, while in Jerusalem the rate was only 57%.  
Among Arabs, the rate of participation of men in the work force in Israel was 66%, a bit lower than the rate in Jerusalem which was 68%.
The rate of unemployed persons is similar for the Jewish and Arab sectors and for the Israeli average and Jerusalem average, standing at 7%. 
In Israel, 66% of Jewish women participated in the work force in 2014, in comparison to 61% of the Jewish women in Jerusalem. 6% of the Jewish women in the work force in Israel were unemployed, while in Jerusalem the percentage of unemployed women was 8%.
The rate of participation of Arab women in the work force in Israel at large, at 28%, was much lower than that of Jewish women. In Jerusalem the rate of participation of Arab women in the work force was 13%, which is lower by over half in comparison to the Israeli average.
90% of Arab women in the work force in Israel were employed, meaning that among Arab women in Israel, there was an unemployment rate of 10%. In Jerusalem 85% of Arab women in the work force were employed, equaling an unemployment rate of 15% among the work force.
This data regarding participation of Arab women in the work force in Jerusalem is especially interesting due to the fact that it shows us that even when an Arab woman decides she would like to be employed, her chances of finding a job are lower than the chances of an Arab woman in Israel. 
In regards to impact of the level of education on work force participation, it is noticeable that among Arab women in Jerusalem, the rate of participation in the work force was higher among women with a higher level of education. 8% of women with secondary school education participated in the work force. 2% of all Arab women living in Jerusalem have attained a Master's degree - 66% of them are in the work force.
This is true also considering Arab women in Israel at large – 28% of women with secondary school education participated in the work force, compared with 88% of women with Master’s degrees.
This effect of education on the motivation to participate in the work force also exists to some extent among women in the Jewish sector, but is much more significant among Arab women. 

Sources: Central Bureau of Statistics, Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem 2016