Young Adults in Israel during the COVID-19 Pandemic – Selected Statistical Data Abstract

Background

During 2020, the residents of the State of Israel, including its population of young adults, experienced the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic and the many changes it brought about in various spheres of life.

Goal

This study was initiated by the research team at the Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute. Its goal was to provide the decision makers with an updated picture of the status of young adults in Israel (aged 18 to 44) in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, classified according to three key topics: health status and mental state; employment and economic status; and trust in the government agencies.

Method

The Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) conducted four rapid assessment surveys from April to November 2020 with the purpose of providing the decision makers with vital data regarding the resilience of the population in Israel against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic. The research team at the Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute analyzed and processed the data collected by the CBS in the four rapid assessment surveys as well as data collected in the CBS labor force surveys conducted in 2019 and 2020.

Findings

This presentation presents findings from the analysis of the abovementioned CBS surveys, classified by topic. Selected findings are presented below:

Health status and mental state: In November 2020, 96.1% of the population of young adults reported a good health status and 83.9% reported a good mental state. At the same time, some of the young parents surveyed reported a decline in the health status and mental state of their children over the period from April to November 2020.

Employment and economic status: The labor force participation rate for all young adults decreased during 2020 (in 2019, 36.6% of those aged 18-24 and 19.2% of those aged 25-34 did not participate in the labor force, compared with 40.6% of those aged 18-24 and 22.2% of those aged 25-34, in 2020).

Trust in the government agencies: The level of trust of young adults in the government significantly declined in the course of 2020 (in April 2020, 71.0% of the respondents reported trust in the government, compared with 42.4% in November 2020) while the trust in the local authorities remained relatively on the same level (in April 2020, 79.3% of the respondents reported trust in the local authorities, compared with 69.1% in November 2020).

 

For MJB’s publications on the COVID-19 pandemic in English, press here.

For MJB’s publications on the COVID-19 pandemic in Hebrew, press here.