Haredi Male Employment Stagnates Despite Massive State Investment, Study Shows
A new Aaron Institute study reveals a widening gender gap in Haredi employment, as ultra-Orthodox women's workforce participation surges while male employment stagnates and wage gaps persist despite massive state investments.
The integration of the Haredi community into Israel's labor market remains one of the country's most critical economic challenges, with demographic projections indicating a steady growth in the ultra-Orthodox population. Over the past decade, successive Israeli governments have invested more than half a billion shekels into integration programs, yet the results reveal a deeply polarized landscape.
A new study by the Aaron Institute for Economic Policy at Reichman University highlights a widening gender gap within the Haredi sector. While employment rates among ultra-Orthodox women have surged from 69% to 82% over the past decade, nearly matching non-Haredi Jewish women, progress among men has stalled. Male employment rose moderately from 48% in 2014 to 56% in 2023, but slipped back to 54% in 2024.
Stagnant Wages and Limited High-Tech Gains
The disparities extend far beyond participation rates into the quality of employment and earnings. Over the past decade, Haredi men worked an average of 37 hours per week, compared to 45 hours for non-Haredi Jewish men. This translates directly into a massive wage gap: while a non-Haredi Jewish man earns an average of over 21,000 shekels per month, the average monthly salary for a Haredi man stood at just 10,600 shekels in 2023—a 50% deficit.
To gauge the effectiveness of massive state investments, researchers focused specifically on young men aged 30 to 34, who should have been the primary beneficiaries of multi-billion-shekel funding for higher education and technological training. Although the number of Haredi men in this cohort nearly doubled, employment rates rose only slightly, weekly hours remained unchanged, and overall wage gaps actually widened.
The Need for a Comprehensive Strategy
Itzik Crombi, a high-tech entrepreneur and Haredi social activist who co-authored the study, warned that without a shift in momentum, Israel's economy faces severe long-term consequences. "We are seeing stagnation and, in some parameters, regression," Crombi stated, emphasizing that fragmented government efforts lack a unified national strategy.
Dr. Hila Axelrad, director of the Haredi Economy Policy Center at the Aaron Institute, noted that while high-tech employment within the 30-34 age group rose from 3% to 11%, it failed to close overall wage gaps. Researchers concluded that effective long-term solutions must begin early, reforming core curricula in education and aligning government incentives to ensure sustainable economic integration.
