Study: Arabs retire from work at age of 40-44

Bank of Israel survey reveals Israeli Arabs retirement age lower than in European, Arab countries. One reason is high rate of Arabs employed in jobs requiring physical fitness

Ynet

Only 20% of Arab women in Israel work, while Arab men retire from the workforce at the age of 40 to 44, according to a new study on the participation rate of Israel's Arabs in the workforce. The survey was conducted by Prof. Eran Yashiv and Nitza Kasir of the Bank of Israel's Research Department. The researchers note that these two patterns cannot be explained by the regular factors – such as age, education, marital status, number of children and the income of the other family members.


According to the researchers, an important factor explaining Arabs' retirement from the workforce at a relatively early age is the high rate of Arabs employed in professions requiring physical fitness.


In light of the fact that physical ability declines with age, the participation in these professions drops. The fact that many foreign workers are employed in Israel allows employers to replace the Arab workers whose physical fitness has declined with other laborers.

The researchers also note that Arab men have the option to receive an income from various governmental aid organizations, which allows them to retire once their physical abilities diminish. This is joined by characteristic influences of the Arab society, including the common phenomenon of children supporting their parents from an early age.


Working less in southern Israel

The rest of the characteristic influencing the participation of Arab men in the workforce are similar to those usually found in research literature, including the positive link between the education level and the rate of participation and the negative affect of residing in the south.


Compared to the employment of Jews and compared to international employment rates, Arab workers' early retirement is unusual. "Among the Jews in Israel, among the Palestinians, in Western economies and in economies in Muslim and Arab countries, one can see the 'classic' participation profile over life which is in the shape of a hump – going up, stabilizing and falling throughout life," the researchers explain.



"The drop in the employment of men in Europe begins after the ages of 50 to 54, while in the US there is a more gradual drop after the ages of 55 to 59. Among Israeli Arabs the hump is shorter and sharper, both in relation to Palestinian men in the territories and to other Arab and Muslim countries."


Cultural influences

As for the employment of Arab women, the study found a big variance in the participation rate, related to differences between "modern" and "traditional" women in terms of education, marital status, number of children and different skills, like English and computers.


The researchers noted that they had found a dichotomy in the employment patterns of Arab women: "Traditional" women hardly take part in the labor market, which explains the low participation rate on an international level.


There is a significant rate of "modern" women taking part in the labor market, which explains the rise in the participation level over time alongside the rise in education rates and other cultural changes.



"There is a finding that women's participation rates are much different than what is common in Western countries and among Jewish women in Israel, and are not significantly different than the rates in Muslim countries. This finding reinforces the conclusion that this is the result of cultural influences."


The researchers note that these findings stress the need for a governmental policy which will help raise women's participation levels and reduce men's early retirement among Israeli Arabs, particularly in light of the negative ramifications of the participation patterns on the Israeli Arab society's social-economic situation.


"There is room to consider a variety of policy moves to increase Arabs' participation in the workforce," the researchers state, including "reaching a wider occupation dispersal of the Arab men, in order to prevent the over-concentration in physical professions, in which retirement is early – increasing the resources for elementary and post-primary education and higher education."


Other moves include "aiding in retraining and career change ahead of the retirement from physical professions and working to remove obstacles in the demand for skilled workers among Arabs; encouraging the employment of Israeli Arabs instead of foreign workers; encouraging the employment of women through education by increasing the resources for education, as well as subsidizing daycare centers; encouraging the physical accessibility of workplaces by investing in a suitable transportation infrastructure and providing transportation to the workplace."