While the incidence of poverty among the non-ultra-Orthodox Jewish population was only 12 percent in 2006, the incidence of poverty among the ultra-Orthodox and Arabs was 57 percent and 58 percent respectively. This is connected to the low rates of employment in these two sectors, particularly among ultra-Orthodox men and Arab women.
In 2006 the employment rate among ultra-Orthodox men was 25 percent (compared to 62 percent among the male population overall) and among Arab women it was 17 percent (compared to 53 percent among women in general).