The Ministry of Economy has suspended two programs for the integration of underrepresented groups of the population in the labor market in general and in the high-tech sector in particular, Globes reports.
Thus, applications for participation in the program for subsidizing businesses’ salaries for new employees from the Druze, Arab, ultra-Orthodox sectors, workers with disabilities and young unemployed people have been stopped. Under the program, businesses received a 25-35% subsidy for the salary of an employee from these categories in the first year and 15-25% in the second year.
In addition, the budget for the program to integrate new high-tech workers from the Arab sector, which subsidized employers 30% of the worker’s salary for 18 months, was cut from NIS 15 million to NIS 6 million, and the subsidy period was shortened to 12 months.
It should be noted that these are programs with a proven high level of effectiveness. A 2021 Deloitte report showed that the profitability rate of these programs is 40%, “and together with the fiscal benefit from indirect employment – 95%. ” As for the program for subsidizing integration into high-tech, the audit showed that it brings a direct tax benefit of 2.5 shekels for every shekel invested, and the increase in income of program participants allowed them to rise by 1-2 deciles on the socio-economic scale.