How Many Foreign Workers Is Israel Permitted to Bring In? 324,786 for 2024
Israel’s foreign-worker quota ceiling for 2024 was 324,786, set at 3.3% of the population, with construction allotted 105,000.
324,786 was the maximum foreign-worker quota for 2024, on the figure published by the Knesset Research and Information Centre in its paper of 7 May 2025. The Centre records that ceiling as 3.3% of Israel’s population, calculated against a population of 9.842 million at the end of 2023. Within it, the construction sector carries a quota of 105,000 workers, of whom 80,000 are brought in by corporations. The ceiling is a permitted maximum for a quota year, not a count of workers present in the country.
| Figure | What it counts | Period |
|---|---|---|
| 324,786 | Maximum foreign-worker quota permitted, a ceiling on quotas rather than a count of workers | 2024 quota year |
| 3.3% | The share of Israel’s population at which the ceiling is set | 2024 quota year |
| 9.842 million | The population figure the 3.3% ceiling is calculated against | End of 2023 |
| 105,000 | Foreign-worker quota in the construction sector | As published, 7 May 2025 |
| 80,000 | Of that construction quota, workers brought in by corporations | As published, 7 May 2025 |
| 500 | Foreign-worker quota in the antiquities sector | As published, 7 May 2025 |
| 115,500 | A stated sector total in the paper, not a sum of all sectors | As published, 7 May 2025 |
Source: Knesset Research and Information Centre, “Data on Quotas for Foreign Workers in the Various Sectors of the Economy and the Number of Foreign Workers,” 7 May 2025.
The Knesset Research and Information Centre publishes the quotas by sector
The Knesset Research and Information Centre, the Knesset’s own research service, published the quota figures in a 13-page paper dated 7 May 2025, written by Noam Greenberg and approved by Shelly Levy, head of team. The paper is the document that carries both the national ceiling and the sector allocations in one place.
What the paper sets out:
- The statutory ceiling on foreign-worker quotas, expressed as a percentage of Israel’s population and as a number of workers.
- The quotas set for individual sectors of the economy, including construction and antiquities.
- The number of foreign workers in Israel, which the paper reports as a separate quantity from the quota.
The 324,786 ceiling is a permitted maximum, not a count of workers
The Knesset Research and Information Centre reports the ceiling and the number of foreign workers in Israel as two different quantities in the same paper. A quota is the number of workers permitted; how many are in the country is a figure the Centre reports separately, and neither number implies the other.
The ceiling is also derived rather than fixed. The Centre states it as 3.3% of Israel’s population, and 3.3% of the 9.842 million population base at the end of 2023 produces 324,786 exactly. Two points follow from that arithmetic, both of them in the paper:
- The ceiling moves with the population, so a ceiling for one quota year is not the ceiling for another.
- The quota year and the population base are offset by a year: the ceiling is for 2024 and the base is end-2023.
Construction carries a quota of 105,000 foreign workers
Construction is the largest sector quota carried on this page, at 105,000 workers, and the Knesset Research and Information Centre records that 80,000 of those are brought in by corporations. At the other end of the range published here, the antiquities sector carries a quota of 500.
| Sector or line | Quota | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Construction | 105,000 | The sector quota as published |
| Construction, via corporations | 80,000 | A component of the 105,000, not additional to it |
| Antiquities | 500 | The sector quota as published |
| Stated sector total | 115,500 | A total stated in the paper, not a sum of all sectors |
Source: Knesset Research and Information Centre, 7 May 2025. The 80,000 sits inside the 105,000.
The Labour Force Survey counts employment, not permits or quotas
The Central Bureau of Statistics publishes the Labour Force Survey monthly, covering persons aged 15 and over, and its April 2026 release reported a labour force participation rate of 62.0% on the seasonally adjusted figures. The Bureau’s survey measures participation, employment and unemployment as rates. None of the four figures in that release is a count of permits, a quota, or a foreign-worker total.
| Rate, April 2026 | Value | Denominator |
|---|---|---|
| Labour force participation, adjusted | 62.0% | Population aged 15 and over |
| Employment, adjusted | 60.2% | Population aged 15 and over |
| Unemployment, adjusted | 2.9% | The labour force, not the population |
| Labour force participation, original unadjusted | 61.8% | Population aged 15 and over |
Source: Central Bureau of Statistics, media release 154/2026, data for April 2026, a survey estimate published monthly.
Which figures on this page may not be added together?
The quota figures and the survey rates come from two Israeli bodies counting different things over different periods, and they do not form one series.
- The 324,786 is a permitted maximum for the 2024 quota year. It is not a count of workers, and it may not be read as one.
- The sector quotas do not sum to the ceiling and are not presented as a decomposition of it. The 115,500 is a stated sector total in the Knesset Research and Information Centre’s paper, not the total of all sectors, and the 80,000 corporation figure sits inside the 105,000 construction quota.
- The Central Bureau of Statistics reports adjusted and original figures side by side, 62.0% against 61.8% in April 2026. Never compare an adjusted figure in one month with an original one in another.
- Unemployment is a share of the labour force. Participation and employment are shares of the population aged 15 and over. The three rates do not share a denominator.
Frequently asked questions
How many foreign workers is Israel permitted to bring in?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre records a maximum foreign-worker quota of 324,786 for 2024.
What is the 3.3% ceiling a share of?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre states the ceiling as 3.3% of Israel’s population, calculated against 9.842 million at the end of 2023.
Does the ceiling count workers already in Israel?
No. The Knesset Research and Information Centre reports the quota and the number of foreign workers in Israel as separate figures in the same paper.
Which sector has the largest quota carried here?
Construction, which the Knesset Research and Information Centre records at 105,000 workers.
How many construction workers are brought in by corporations?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre records 80,000 of the 105,000 construction quota as brought in by corporations.
What is the smallest sector quota published here?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre records a quota of 500 workers in the antiquities sector.
Do the sector quotas add up to the ceiling?
They are not published as a decomposition of it. The Knesset Research and Information Centre states a sector total of 115,500, which is not the sum of all sectors.
Who publishes Israel’s foreign-worker quota figures?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre, the Knesset’s own research service, published them in its paper of 7 May 2025.
Does the ceiling change from year to year?
It is a calculation from a population figure, so it moves as the population does. The Knesset Research and Information Centre gives 324,786 for the 2024 quota year against an end-2023 population base.
What does the Labour Force Survey measure?
The Central Bureau of Statistics measures labour force participation, employment and unemployment among persons aged 15 and over, published monthly as a survey estimate.
Is the 2.9% unemployment rate a share of the population?
No. The Central Bureau of Statistics reported 2.9% for April 2026 as a share of the labour force, while its 60.2% employment rate is a share of the population aged 15 and over.
Does the Labour Force Survey give a foreign-worker figure?
The Central Bureau of Statistics published participation, employment and unemployment rates in its April 2026 release, and none of those figures is a count of foreign workers or of permits.
Why do adjusted and original figures differ?
The Central Bureau of Statistics publishes both, and reported 62.0% adjusted against 61.8% original for April 2026. Each release names which is which.
Sources
- Central Bureau of Statistics, 2026. Labour Force Survey, data for April 2026. Media release 154/2026. https://www.cbs.gov.il/he/mediarelease/DocLib/2026/154/20_26_154b.pdf. Official or primary record.
- Knesset Research and Information Centre, 2025. Data on Quotas for Foreign Workers in the Various Sectors of the Economy and the Number of Foreign Workers. 7 May 2025, 13 pages. knesset.gov.il. Official or primary record.
