Unemployment in Israel is not falling, despite the government’s optimistic declarations and the talk of and end to the recession, following the rise in consumption and in imports of durable goods. The unemployment rate remained at 10.7% in October, the save level as in the past six months, according to Central Bureau of Statistics figures published today.
Trend data showed 279,100 jobless persons in November, the same as in the second quarter. The number of unemployed has risen by 5,216 since January 1.
The unemployment rate has risen 2% in the past three years since the beginning of the violent conflict with the Palestinians in September 2000, representing 52,168 additional jobless persons.
Economic sources in Jerusalem predicted that unemployment would continue rising, reaching 300,000-313,000 in 2004, 11.5-12% of the civilian labor force. The sources added that unemployment would only begin to fall towards the end of 2004, and that only if annual growth exceeded 3%.
The true unemployment rate is currently 16.5% of the civilian labor force, amounting to 429,900 jobseekers, of whom 231,000 are women and 198,900 men.
In addition to the 279,100 unemployed in the Central Bureau of Statistic figures, another 150,800 persons are classed as “temporarily out of work.” Even the Central Bureau of Statistics does not categorize these people as employed, but they are not recognized as unemployed.
The figures also show that a quarter of the adult population in Israel, 1.08 million people, either does not work or is temporarily out of work. This statistic has risen 2.2% since the beginning of 2003 and 4.7% since the beginning of 2002.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on December 17, 2003