Unemployment Rate Hits 40-Year Low

The unemployment rate in Israel in October hit its lowest point in over 40 years. The Central Bureau of Statistics reported Monday that the October unemployment rate was 3.4%, the lowest recorded since 1978. The figure was also two-tenths of a percentage point lower than in September, when the rate wsa 3.6%.

The total number of people looking for a job age 15 or older is around 141,000, the CBS said. Among male workers, the unemployment rate fell from 3.3% to 3.1% between September and October, while for women the rate fell from 3.9% to 3.7%. With that, the number of part-time workers fell by about 9,000. The percentage of those working full-time, at least 35 hours a week, remained stable at 78.4%.

Among workers age 25 through 64, the percentage of eligible Israelis participating in the workforce fell slightly, from 80.8% to 80.1%, but unemployment also fell in this group, from 3.2% to 2.9%. The number of men in this group not working fell from 3% to 2.7%; among women, 3.2% of workers age 25 through 64 were seeking working in October, down from 3.3% the month before, the numbers showed.

In response to the statistics, Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon said that “low unemployment is a sign of a strong economy, and no less important, a strong society. Every person wants to wake up in the morning and go to work in order to honorably support their family. I am very happy and proud of these statistics.”