The Ministry of Finance claims that 44,000 jobs were created in March while unemployment rose to 6.9%.
Minister of Finance Yuval Steinitz reported to the cabinet today that 44,000 new jobs were created in March and that 270,000 new jobs have been created over the past three years. The Ministry of Finance issued an official press release on the matter this afternoon.
Yet only a week ago, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported that unemployment had risen to 6.9% in March, up from 6.5% in February.
The Ministry of Finance does not explain the possible contradiction between these figures - the creation of a record number of new jobs while unemployment is rising. The ministry's announcement said, "The Ministry of Finance's economics and research division conducted a monthly comparison in accordance with the number of employees in a quarterly workforce survey by the Central Bureau of Statistics. The calculations show that the number of jobs created in March was higher than at any time since 2009.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 7, 2012
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