The unemployment rate in Israel fell to 3% in the first half of June, from 3.4% in the second half of May, the Central Bureau of Statistics reports, just higher than the historic low of 2.9% in the first half of April.
There were 186,000 jobseekers in the first half of June, up from 143,000 in May.
At the same time, the unemployment rate under the broad definition fell to 4.3% in the first half of June from 5.1% in the second half of May. The broad definition includes employees put on unpaid leave at the start of the Covid crisis two years ago and who have still not returned to work. These employees are mainly in the tourist industry.
Participation in the workforce of the working age population in Israel rose to 62.1% in the first half of June from 61.6% in the second half of May.
The Bank of Israel Research Department forecasts 3.5% unemployment at the end of 2022 with a continuing low level of unemployment in 2023, Globes reports.
