Swapping the stage for a deli: Israel underemployment rises

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A year ago, Cijay Brightman was doing sound and lighting for a Madonna performance in Israel. Now, after the coronavirus wiped out live events, he's making sandwiches, slicing cheese and serving customers at a Tel Aviv deli.

Brightman spent the last 15 years perfecting his craft and doing what he loves as a stage technician. But in the wake of the pandemic, he has been forced to abandon his passion and profession — like thousands of others in Israel — and find any job that will pay the bills.

“Sometimes, I’m losing it,” said Brightman, 36, slicing sausage for a customer at the deli. “You worked with the biggest star in the world ... with Madonna, and you were working on her stage, and a day after you just realize that you are nothing.”

Underemployment is plaguing workers around the world. Although there are no global statistics yet, the phenomenon is expected to grow as the economic crisis around the world deepens, said economist Roger Gomis of the International Labor Organization.

In Israel, experts say anywhere from a few thousand to tens of thousands are newly underemployed, one of the many economic blows set in motion by the virus.

Israel initially reacted swiftly to the pandemic. In the spring, the government shut down schools, events spaces, theaters and restaurants. The measures slowed the spread of the virus, but the country’s unemployment rate skyrocketed to nearly 28%, including both people who are unemployed as well as those on furlough. Many of those affected were self-employed and therefore unable to seek unemployment benefits.

By May, as daily infections were brought down to a few dozen, Israel began reopening the economy, sparking hope that those furloughed could return to their jobs and the unemployed could...