Ethiopian immigrants earned half as much as all other Israeli Jews in 2006, according to a Bank of Israel report that will be released next week.

While the average income per capita among the Ethiopian community averaged NIS 2,000 a month, the rest of the Jewish community averaged twice that amount. The report also reveals that Ethiopians earn less than the Arab population in Israel, which earns an average of NIS 2,700 a month.

According to the report, 52 percent of Ethiopian families in Israel are poor, constituting 16 percent of the total number of families who are living below the poverty line.

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Because a large portion of the Ethiopian community is uneducated and lacks professional skills, a majority of its members are unemployed. Those who do find work are employed through human resource contractors, and thus earn low wages and are eligible for minimal social benefits.

Some 40 percent of those immigrants who are of employable age do not have an education which exceeds elementary school level. Only 56 percent of Ethiopians are part of Israel's work force, as opposed to 76 percent of the entire Jewish population.

Half of the Ethiopians earn less than NIS 22 an hour, well under the median salary in Israel, which is NIS 34.5 an hour, according to the report.

The median salary among immigrants from the former Soviet Union is also comparatively low, currently standing at NIS 25.2 an hour, according to the report.

The lack of education among the Ethiopian community does not bode well for the future. Large portions of children of Ethiopian background study in technological schools, boarding schools, special education institutions and religious schools.

The percentage of school drop-outs is also high. Only 44 percent of Ethiopian high school students pass their matriculation exams, as opposed to 57 percent among the general population.

The Ethiopian immigrant community reached 106,000 at the end of 2005, of which 33,000 were born in Israel. According to the report, the state invested some NIS 400,000 in the absorption of each immigrant between 1994 and 2003.

While the report does note significant progress in the integration of Ethiopian immigrants into Israeli society in recent years, many demographic characteristics hinder this process.

For instance, the average Ethiopian family has a comparatively large number of children, and usually they are cared for by only one parent, or by elderly people.

Since the majority of Ethiopian families live in disadvantaged neighborhoods, the report recommends that immigrants try to spread out across the country and create new communities.

The report also recommends that affirmative action policies in the public sector be expanded and that schools with a large number of Ethiopian Jews receive extra funding.