Scale of Jewish joblessness under pandemic revealed

● Charedim and those in lower income brackets are among hardest hit

V THE UNEMPLOYMENT rate among Jews almost doubled in the first few months of the pandemic, rising more sharply than among the general UK population, according to a new report by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR).

Among the economically active Jewish population, 3.4 per cent were unemployed in February last year, compared to four per cent in the UK as a whole.

But by July 2020, Jewish unemployment had risen to 6.6 per cent compared with the national rate of 4.5 per cent. The national rate climbed to 5.1 per cent by December but there is no updated figure for the Jewish community.

Charedim, Jews in single households and those in lower income brackets — earning under £30,000 a year — were hit hardest in terms of loss of work or reduced hours, JPR found.

Jewish women were more likely to have been made redundant or placed on furlough than Jewish men. However, the overall employment rate among Jewish women actually rose slightly during the period.

JPR cautioned that some factors may “distort the figures”.

British Jews tend to enter the workforce at a later stage than the UK as a whole because they are more likely to have been in higher education — and tend to work beyond retirement age.

In addition, JPR noted that Jews “are much more likely than average to be self-employed”, and it was possible “that the furlough scheme masks the ‘true’ level of unemployment in the general population”.

Jews were less likely to have been put on furlough — 5.2 per cent at most in mid-July, compared with 9.5 per cent of the UK population.

Almost a quarter (just over 24 per cent) of the adult Jewish population reported a negative work experience, such as “being made redundant, being furloughed, having their pay reduced”.

Fifty-six per cent of those earning £20,000-£30,000 had been “severely impacted”, the report said.

Strictly Orthodox Jews were most likely to have had their hours reduced (27 per cent); to have been furloughed (21 per cent); or to have been made redundant (six per cent).

JPR concluded that “while many Jews have experienced serious work impacts, and many among the high proportions of self-employed Jews have lost income without having the same access to government financial support as the employed, it seems unlikely that the Jewish population as a whole has suffered disproportionately”.

The heads of Jewish employment support charities said JPR’s findings were in line with their experiences. Resource CEO Victoria Sterman reported “a significant increase in the number of people approaching us because they have been made redundant, put on furlough, or their business has failed.

“Sadly, we know that many more will inevitably find themselves out of work when the furlough scheme comes to an end. The knock-on effect on people’s confidence and self-esteem in many cases has been devastating.”

At Work Avenue, Debbie Sheldon said staff were assisting “those seeking to enter or re-enter the workplace, providing them with skills and mentored paid work experience to increase their chances of finding permanent roles as quickly as possible. Our work over the past 15 years with clients from the Charedi community has been especially important.”

Many more will be out of work when the furlough scheme ends’