Unemployment hit a new low in December. The Central Bureau of Statistics reported today that the unemployment rate among those age 15 or older fell from 3.9% in November to 3.4% in December. The previous record was in October, when the rate was also 3.4%, but was later revised upwards to 3.5%.
The decline in the unemployment rate among women was particularly steep, from 3.8% in November to 3.2% in December, while the unemployment rate among men dropped from 3.9% in November to 3.6% in December. The rate of participation in the labor force was down slightly. The downturn in unemployment at the end of the year lowered the average unemployment rate in 2019 to 3.8%, compared with 4% in 2018.
Employment rose by 16,000 to 3.983 million in the fourth quarter. The proportion of total employees working in the technology industry is now 10%, compared with 9.4% in 2018.
The sectors with the fastest increase in the number of jobs in the fourth quarter were vehicle trading and repair (35,000 more jobs), information and communications (10,000 more jobs), and hosting and food services and local and public administration (5,000 more jobs each). Mining and quarrying, on the other hand, lost 19,000 jobs in the fourth quarter.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on January 30, 2020
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