NEWS
COUNTERS
:
:!":".. "Contemporary Women's Sportswear"
OUR BIGGEST
SALE EVER
IF IT'S NOT MARKED DOWN IT'S FREE!
UP TO
MIDNIGHT
MADNESS
SALE
1 11:11 STOREWIDE
/1 1111: 111::
HOURS: M-Th 10-7, F 10-9
Sat. 10-9, Sun. 12-5
FRI., DEC. 13th
10 AM-12 MID
SALE THRU
THURS., DEC. 19th
33 306 Grand River
East of Farmington Road in Downriver
Farmington (Next fo Village Shoe Inn)
471-5620
AFFORDABLE CLOTHING • ACCEPTABLY DIFFERENT
Storm Doors
i Storm Doors
Mirrored Walls
Mirrored Walls
Tub & Shower Enclosures
Bi•Fold Mirrored Doors 1
I Coupon good for any or all products. One coupon per purchase. Not valid with other offers. Expires 12-30-91 II
INIMMENMENNIMIWIMolmmunifimmilmINNEIMM=MilommiosiiMINIMmiNIUMNIM
W. BLOOMFIELD •
5731 W. Maple
855.3400
70
FARMINGTON
BERKLEY
2109 N. Woodward 31205 Grand River
476.0730
, 543.4046
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1991
NOW OPEN
24cs 27 MA i i e
(E. of Telegraph)
353-1500
Unemployment Blamed
For Aliyah Decline
Jerusalem (JTA) — Offi-
cials at Israel's Absorption
Ministry are blaming
unemployment for the re-
cent decline in Soviet aliyah.
A total of 8,090 immi-
grants arrived from the
Soviet Union in November.
That was 1,755 fewer than
in October, continuing a
decline that began last June
when aliyah reached 20,473,
its monthly high for the
year.
An additional 3,344 Soviet
Jews immigrated to the
United States, according to
figures provided by the Heb-
rew Immigrant Aid Society
in New York.
The latest figures for
Soviet immigrants to Israel
brought to 134,646 the
number of Soviet olim who
arrived here in the first 11.
months of this year. Clearly,
the 1991 total will not match
last year's record of 181,759.
Pessimism was rampant
last month, mainly because
of seemingly bleak prospects
in the job market.
Deputy Labor Minister
Menahem Porush estimated
present unemployment in
Israel at 145,000 and
predicted it would exceed
200,000 next year. The Fi-
nance Ministry said there
were 90,000 jobless last
month.
But the figures do not
necessarily speak for them-
selves, according to Yediot
Aehronot's economics editor,
Sever Plotzker, who believes
the unemployment crisis has
been overblown.
Mr. Plotzker pointed out
that during 18 months of
Soviet aliyah, 140,000 per-
sons joined Israel's labor
force, of whom 100,000 were
new immigrants.
In that period, the busi-
ness sector created 90,000
jobs and the public and ser-
vice sectors 30,000. Of those
120,000 new jobs, fully half
— 60,000 — were filled by
new immigrants.
Mr. Plotzker pointed out
that unemployment among
veteran Israelis declined
from 160,000 in 1990 to
150,000 in 1991, reducing
the annual rate from 9.6 to 9
percent.
Those who remain
unemployed are hard-core
victims of the recession of
the 1980s, the hardest hit
being women.
About 60,000 women were
unemployed prior to the
latest wave of Soviet aliyah.
In the last quarter, their
numbers jumped to 85,000,
including 15,000 to 20,000
mainly older women olim.
Jewish Agency officials
believe that deteriorating
conditions in the Soviet
Union will trigger a new
wave, bringing in more than
20,000 immigrants a month.
For now, the biggest
headache is the estimated
40,000 jobless Soviet olim.
An overwhelming propor-
tion of them are engineers,
scientists and performing
artists. Their plight, known
to relatives and friends back
home, is convincing many
potential olim to postpone
their departure.
"The influx of such large
numbers of professionals has
distorted the per capita ratio
between locally trained per-
sonnel and the number of
jobs available for them in
the existing Israeli labor
market," explained Grace
Moussia, director of
employment services at the
Soviet Jewry Zionist Forum.
"If, for example, Israeli
engineers constituted 3 per-
cent of the labor force, this
Conditions in the
Soviet Union will
trigger a new wave
of immigrants.
ratio has shot up to 40 per-
cent since the Soviet influx,"
she said.
But she played down
recurrent Israeli media
stories of abysmal poverty
among ohm.
"These are probably
isolated cases of people with
a history of family and per-
sonal problems in the Soviet
Union. The vast majority of
new ohm are keeping afloat,
but their difficult situation
is worsening," Ms. Moussia
said.
She pointed out, however,
that few Soviet immigrants
will accept work in Israel's
expanding construction in-
dustry, which the Building
Contractors Association says
will absorb 15,000 Israelis
and 5,000 olim trainees in
1992.
Ms. Moussia said that
"finding work for Soviet doc-
tors, which has given Israel
six times as many as she
needs, is proving less of a
problem."
"They have been more
vocal in attracting public at-
tention and are turning to
paramedics, nursing, social
work and geriatrics," she
said.