IMF Wraps Up Israel Visit With Call To Work

JERUSALEM (AP) — The International Monetary Fund says Israel’s long term economic stability depends on whether more Israeli Arabs and ultra-Orthodox Jews join the work force.

The IMF says in a preliminary report after a two-week mission to Israel that the country’s economy is strong and has weathered the global economic slowdown well.

But it notes that Arab-Israeli women have an employment rate of 20 percent and ultra-Orthodox men of 40 percent. The two groups are among the poorest and fastest growing in Israel.

The IMF said Monday that if these two sectors reached the employment, wage and productivity rates as the rest of the country, Israel’s output would rise by 15 percent.

Israel’s finance minister says he is acting to integrate the groups in the labor market.