Unemployment Inches Up in Israel Amid Rising Inflation, Interest Rates

Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) said Monday that unemployment hit 4.3% in December 2022, slightly higher than the jobless rate for the previous month, 4.1%. In absolute figures, from a total workforce of about 4,402,300 people, 181,100 sought jobs in November 2022, and 189,300 in December 2022 – the highest number since November 2021.

Rising unemployment comes amid rising inflation (5.3% in 2022, its highest rate since 2008), rising interest rates, and a general economic slowdown.

CBS says that by a broader definition of unemployment, which includes 39,000 people who are temporarily out of work or were laid off because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the unemployment rate currently stands at 5.1%.

Israeli unemployment hit a 42-year record low in April 2022, when 3.1% of the workforce – 132,600 people – were jobless.