Jerusalem's population rises, more Arabs and ultra-Orthodox join workforce
Israel's capital is also its largest city, in which its population and industry continued to grow in 2019
Israel's capital, Jerusalem, continues to flourish as the city's population figures maintained their upward trajectory and welcomed both more ultra-Orthodox Jews and Arabs into the workforce.
In addition, mostly younger people from those two sectors of society are increasingly attending university, according to a recently released report that the Jerusalem Institute of Policy Research (JIPR) published, as cited in The Jerusalem Post.
Jerusalem is officially by far Israel's largest city, boasting a population of 919, 400 residents, approximately double the amount of Tel Aviv and triple the number of residents living in Haifa - Israel's most populous northern city. Jerusalem is host to 569,900 Jewish residents and 349,600 Arabs.
For the second year in succession, Jerusalem saw a positive net-migration of residents to the city. The study showed that 46 percent of those who did move away, radiated to localities in the Jerusalem metropolis. Approximately 13,000 people immigrated to Jerusalem from other parts of Israel as well as overseas.
According to the Post, the number of Arab students in the city increased 33 percent, with a 25-percent increase at the Hebrew University and a 52-percent increase at other academic colleges.
Until the coronavirus outbreak, only 3 percent of working-age Arabs remained unemployed.
“The Statistical Yearbook published by the Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research deals with all aspects and all neighborhoods of Jerusalem. East and west, new and old, religious and secular, Jewish and Arab. This is the real Jerusalem, lest we forget it - street-level Jerusalem,” said Israel's President Reuven Rivlin. “Jerusalem is a microcosm of our existence here, its population a representation of the demographic diversity of the state of Israel. We must find a way to create a conversation, to connect, to build partnerships.”
Jerusalem's Mayor Moshe Lion expressed the hope of halting emigration from the city "and the entrance of more and more young families and hi-tech workers to the city."