Future Challenges to the Employment Market in Jerusalem – Introducing our New Research

What Does the Future Hold for Employment in Jerusalem?

The Jerusalem Municipality and the government are investing heavily in developing local employment. Even so, it seems that uncertainty is the only certainty regarding the future of employment.

How can we ensure future employment under conditions of uncertainty? The research literature points to three trends influencing development strategies:

1. A growing rate of technological change and improvement
2. Demographic changes
3. Globalization

The goal of our research (Hebrew) “Future Challenges to the Employment Market in Jerusalem” was to examine changing trends in the Jerusalem employment market, and their consequences. The employment market in Jerusalem has several unique characteristics – the most prominent is the low participation rate: only two-thirds of all Jerusalem residents take an active part in the workforce, and they are employed mainly in the public sector.

Primary insights arising from the research

Action is required in three different fields:

1. On-going and through-life training and education
2. How the Municipality functions, focusing on the interface between businesses and employees
3.   Urban planning, which needs to allow both employers and employees, salaried and independent workers, to find somewhere they can work in a way that will enable them to express their personal preferences and needs and create a robust Jerusalem economy.

The research was presented by Yamit Naftali and Amir Muskat-Barkan, researchers at The Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research, with comments by Avner Sa’adon, head of the Strategy Department in the Jerusalem Municipality.

 A new series of events: Introducing our New Research

As part of our work in the Jerusalem Institute, we initiate and run research and training, formulating and presenting policy papers and promoting public discussion. In this series, we will present the Institute’s latest publications and research, together with comments from relevant parties from the public sector, the third sector and elsewhere. This is the second meeting in the series. You are invited to join us to learn more about our research!