Top 5 Employers in Israel: Which Companies Have the Most Jobs?

Israel’s status as an economic power in the Middle East gives its citizens the chance to earn solid living wages in addition to educational opportunities. That educated and motivated workforce has enabled employers in Israel to prosper.

According to the OECD Better Life Index, more than 67 percent of citizens ages 15 to 64 have a paid job in Israel, and 85 percent of adults 25 to 64 have at least an upper secondary education.

Here are the five companies that have the most jobs in Israel.

1. Bank Leumi le-Israel
Leumi is Israel’s oldest banking corporation (established in 1902) and specializes in retail, corporate, commercial, private, and international banking. According to Globes’ Dun’s 100, the bank has 13,004 employees and a balance sheet of NIS 374.4 billion.

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2. Bank Hapoalim
Bank Hapoalim boasts over 12,000 employees and is Israel’s leading financial services group according to Globes’ Dun’s 100. The bank was established in 1921 and is headquartered in Tel Aviv, according to Forbes. It specializes in corporate lending, retail and Internet banking, and credit card activities. There are seven business centers in Israel and 22 specialized business branches spread throughout the country.

3. Israel Chemicals
Israel Chemicals is a worldwide company with more than 12,000 employees, according to its website. The company calls itself a, “Global manufacturer of products based on unique minerals” and operates specifically in fertilizers, industrial products, and performance products.

4. Intel
According to ZDNet, Israel’s biggest private sector employer is Intel. The technology company employs roughly 10,000 direct workers and has four design centers and two fabrication plants. One out of every 10 people in technology in the country works either directly or peripherally for projects for Intel. The hi-tech company has been operating in Israel since 1974.

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5. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries
The world’s largest producer of generic prescriptions is based in Israel, employing 6,774 according to a Globes Publisher article from 2011. That number grew to 6,967 in 2014, according to a chart from statista.com. The company’s website states that it started in Jerusalem in 1901, its shares began trading on NASDAQ in 1987, and it currently has a portfolio of over 1,000 molecules with 66 manufacturing facilities located around the world.

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