The share of high-tech job seekers has nearly tripled since ChatGPT's launch
New Employment Service data shows software professionals now account for nearly half of all unemployed tech workers, although researchers stop short of attributing the shift directly to AI.
The number of high-tech job seekers in Israel reached a record 16,300 in May, while the share of high-tech professionals among all job seekers has nearly tripled since the launch of ChatGPT. According to a new study by Dr. Gal Zohar, director of the Israeli Employment Service's Research Department, and economist and analyst Yaakov Forman, software professionals, whose jobs are among the most exposed to artificial intelligence, now account for nearly half of all unemployed high-tech workers.
The study, published on Tuesday, examines changes in Israel's high-tech labor market.
According to the findings, the number of high-tech job seekers registered with the Employment Service has more than doubled over the past six years, rising from a monthly average of about 7,700 in 2019 to what the Employment Service describes as a "historic peacetime record" of 16,300 in May 2026. The agency projects the figure will reach approximately 16,800 by the end of the year, although it notes that the pace of growth has begun to slow.
Between 2012 and 2023, employment in Israel's high-tech sector nearly doubled, increasing from 213,000 workers to about 396,000. By 2025, the sector employed approximately 404,000 people. According to the Employment Service, had the industry's previous growth trajectory continued, the sector would have employed around 461,000 workers by the end of 2025, roughly 57,000 more than it actually did.
The report emphasizes, however, that this reflects a slowdown in the industry's expansion rather than a contraction.
The researchers identified a correlation between the rise of generative AI and the increase in high-tech job seekers, particularly among software professionals, although they stress that they found no evidence of a causal relationship.
"As AI enters the labor market, both the number of high-tech job seekers and their share of total job seekers have increased," the report states. "In 2022, before the launch of ChatGPT in November, high-tech workers accounted for only about 4% of all job seekers. Since then, their share has nearly tripled to 11%."
Software professionals accounted for 49% of all high-tech job seekers in May 2026, making them by far the largest affected group.
Zohar and Forman note that software occupations are among the most exposed to AI within the technology sector. By comparison, professionals in engineering and scientific roles account for 19% of high-tech job seekers, while workers in management, sales and design represent about 10%.
Since 2019, the number of unemployed software professionals has risen by 109%, compared with an 83% increase among other high-tech occupations and 41.5% across the overall labor market.
According to Employment Service CEO Inbal Mashash, the agency is working to help displaced technology professionals find opportunities outside the traditional high-tech sector.
"We are working to integrate high-tech job seekers into technology roles in non-tech industries," Mashash said. "The benefits are twofold, not only for the job seekers themselves, but for the Israeli economy as a whole."
