High-Tech Unemployment Crisis: Job Seekers Double in 3 Years - What's Driving the Surge?

High-Tech Sector Faces Unprecedented Unemployment Spike

In December 2025, the number of job seekers in the high-tech sector reached 16,300 - double the figure recorded in December 2022, according to a special report published by the Employment Service.

Slowdown in Growth Rate

However, the report indicates that during 2025, there was a significant slowdown in the rate of increase in the number of job seekers. In the final quarter of the year, the figure remained relatively stable at around 16,000 job seekers.

Sector Comparison Reveals Stark Contrast

Compared to January 2022, the number of job seekers outside the high-tech sector is currently lower and stands at about 90% of its level then, while among high-tech job seekers there has been a 126% increase.

Software Occupations Dominate Job Seeker Pool

The data further show that 59% of job seekers in the sector come from software-related occupations - about 9,600 candidates. Of these, software developers and systems analysts account for roughly 51%, and their share has been rising over the years.

Job Market Shows Mixed Signals

At the same time, during 2025, there was an approximately 15% increase in the number of open high-tech positions - from 15,900 to 18,300. The jobs-to-job-seekers ratio at the end of the year stood at 1.12, meaning 112 positions for every 100 job seekers. In the last quarter, software development openings rose by about 5% and engineering positions by about 4%.

Salary Disparity Between Employed and Job Seekers

The average salary in the high-tech sector in the final quarter of 2025 was about NIS 32,500, compared to an average of NIS 13,600 in other sectors. However, among high-tech job seekers, the average expected salary stood at only about NIS 21,700.