The unemployment rate fell to an all time low of 5.5% of the civilian labor force in the second quarter of 2011, down from 6% in the preceding quarter, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported today. There were 176,000 unemployed in the second quarter.
Participation in the labor force rose to 57.5% in the second quarter from 57.4% in the first quarter. The number of employees was 3.2 million in the second quarter, including 3.03 million employed by 175,000 private sector businesses. The number of employees rose by 3.4% from 2.99 million in the corresponding quarter of 2010.
58.9% of men over the age of 15 participated in the labor force in the second quarter, up from 58.3% in the preceding quarter, and the participation of women rose to 50% from 49.9%. The participate rate of men aged 25-64 rose to 72% from 71.7%, and the participation of women aged 25-64 rose to 66.6% from 66.5%.
The number of men employees rose to 1.6 million in the second quarter from 1.58 million in the preceding quarter, and the number of women employees rose to 1.43 million from 1.42 million.
The unemployment rate among people aged 25-64 fell to 4.6% in the second quarter from 5.2% in the preceding quarter. The unemployment rate among men in the age group fell to 4.6% from 5.5% and the unemployment rate among women fell to 4.5% from 5%.
However, the number of people with full-time jobs (at least 35 hours a week) fell by 1%, or 20,000 people, from the preceding quarter, while the number of people with part-time jobs rose by 7%, or 56,000 people.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 31, 2011
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