202,470 job-seekers a month on average applied to the Israel National Employment Service (INES) in 2003, 3.1% more than the average of 196,383 job-seekers a month in 2002, according to a Bank of Israel analysis of Central Bureau of Statistics figures.
The figure is biased on the low side, due to the labor sanctions by INES employees during the past three months.
A record 226,797 job-seekers, seasonally adjusted, applied at INES in September, before the labor sanctions began. Original figures show that 233,071 job-seekers applied at INES.
37,485 more job-seekers a month on average applied to the INES during the three years of the intifada, 2001-03, an increase of 22.7%. Since 1998, the monthly average of applicants at INES has risen by 30%, or 46,256 job-seekers.
Seasonally adjusted figures indicate a significant deterioration in Israel's employment situation starting in the third quarter of 2003. 219,370 job-seekers applied to INES a month on average in the third quarter of 2003, 12% more than the average of 195,898 job-seekers a month in the corresponding quarter in 2002.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on January 6, 2004