While Israel’s government debates imposing a new lockdown in order to tamp down rising coronavirus infection figures, it’s business as usual in Israel’s hi-tech sector.
Over 6,000 cases were registered on Monday, the highest number since the peak of the pandemic in February. There is increasing talk of a fourth lockdown to be implemented in September, during the holiday season. However, many say that such a measure is unnecessary, and would harm the country’s economic recovery.
Job vacancy data provided by the JobMaster website shows a strong rise in positions available in August. Job listings for customer service and logistics jobs rose by more than 40% in August over July. Positions in financial fields rose 35%, and those in programming, engineering and sales rose about 20% over the month, according to the site.
“The data over the past month indicates that the labor market remains indifferent to the rise in the corona indices and the possibility of a fourth closure,” said JobMaster CEO Natan Levi. “People are consuming, vacationing, shopping and dining, and the trend is no different outside the consumer industries. Many employers, especially medium and large ones, have a large number of vacancies available, so even if there is a temporary closure, they still have high employee demand. Employers are focused on making sure they have enough staff to maintain their current operations.
“It is important to understand that after a year of corona, many employers have developed digital marketing and sales channels so that they are more prepared for a fourth closure,” Levi added. “They believe that even if there is a closure, they will need employees.”
However, Levi noted, there is a tendency for employees to wait until after the holidays to seek work. “We continue to see a gradual and hesitant return by potential job candidates back into the labor market,” he said. “It seems that some, especially those living at home with their parents, prefer to wait until the end of the summer months and the holiday season.”
Avishay Cohen, CEO and founder of product design automation platform Anima, said his company won’t need to make any adjustments if a lockdown is declared.
“If there is a fourth closure, from an organizational point of view we are well-rehearsed,” Cohen said. “We work remotely with the option to come to the offices. Each employee has a work area with a screen, table and chair that we sent them at the beginning of the first closure. We have staff meetings at the beginning of each day, and we communicate via Slack and Zoom. Every Thursday we have a social call, and to make sure their sugar levels don’t go down, all the workers get ice cream or beers delivered to their homes.”
Virtually no one in the hi-tech world is doing anything to try to anticipate a closure, said Toot Shani, CEO and founder of the Sarona Partners group. “Most companies are now structured so that they can work from anywhere if needed,” Shani said. “There hasn’t been any slowdown in hiring, and work is continuing as usual.”
Shani, like many, said she thinks a government lockdown would be very excessive. “The government is completely detached from the private sector on this,” she said. “I don’t think a fourth closure would help. The market is tired. Just let the economy keep working.”