Israel Approves 5,000 Additional Foreign Workers for Retail and Service Sectors

The Israeli Ministry of Economy has announced a new allocation of up to 5,000 foreign workers to address ongoing labor shortages in the retail and service industries. This allocation, approved by the inter-ministerial committee on foreign workers, targets sectors including retail trade, wholesale, automotive repair, cleaning, event halls, and infrastructure services such as elevator technicians' assistants, plumbing, and gardening.

The allocation is divided into two tracks: up to 1,000 permits for employers who have not previously received approval to hire foreign workers in these sectors, and approximately 4,000 permits for employers with prior recommendations who have not yet exhausted their quotas. Employers in the second track do not need to submit new applications, as the Ministry of Economy has already reviewed their remaining eligibility.

Currently, there are over 50,000 foreign workers in these sectors, with many employed in supermarkets and food factories performing roles such as stocking, packing, and loading. Due to a shortage of Israeli workers, the inter-ministerial committee has progressively increased the foreign worker quotas over recent years, with the total now reaching 31,000 for commerce and services. However, a significant unresolved issue remains the shortage of foreign truck drivers, forcing companies to reduce shipments or use smaller vehicles.

Additionally, the Ministry of Agriculture plans to launch a pilot program allowing licensed medical cannabis growers to request foreign worker permits, with a cap of 630 workers based on farm size. This pilot will run until the end of the year with a possible extension. The number of active medical cannabis license holders in Israel has surged by 60% over the past five years, reaching 136,400 as of January 2024.