490 thousand workers in the Israeli economy are absent from work due to the war

According to A-Yom, about 11% of the labor force in the country’s economy, which is approximately 490 thousand people, are currently absent from work. The mass absence is due to both the sending of workers on unpaid leave (“khufsha lelo tashlyum”, HALAT) and the large-scale conscription of reservists.

The absence from work of parents of small children, who are forced to stay at home with their children amid closed schools and kindergartens (risking their jobs), is also very significant.

The arts, entertainment and leisure sectors, management and support services, trade and the education system, which operates partially and only remotely, have been hit hardest, the Labor Ministry said.