More than 16,000 workers in Israel's hi-tech sector recently registered as unemployed, a threefold increase compared with the number of job seekers in 2022. Inbal Mashash, director general of the Israel Employment Service, attributed this rise to the expanded use of artificial intelligence during a podcast interview on Tuesday.

"We are seeing a trend of an increase in the number of job seekers in hi-tech. This is a record number for normal times. If we look at trends in recent years, compared with 2022, this is a threefold increase. That is definitely concerning and indicates a problem," Mashash said.

"Half of them are software workers, where there is very high exposure to artificial intelligence. That is why we are seeing a very strong correlation and connection between the fact that the number of job seekers has risen and the expansion of the use of artificial intelligence. These are people from the core of the industry, with more than eight years of seniority and experience," she said.

"The hi-tech sector is the engine of growth for the economy. We see that there are about 14,000 open positions in the sector, and another 4,000 technology jobs outside it. We assume that some of the people who undergo certain training programs will find themselves back in the sector," Mashash said.

"We are working in cooperation with the Innovation Authority, the AI headquarters and the Manufacturers Association, and are working to integrate them into non-technological sectors, such as traditional industries. There is a double benefit when those people are integrated there," she said.

"We expect there will be another increase in the coming months, and then it will gradually moderate," Mashash said.