Israel's Unemployment Rate Drops in August Amid Fewer Job Openings
Israel's unemployment rate decreased to 2.9% in August, down from 3.3% in July, according to data released by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). This translates to approximately 131,000 unemployed individuals, a reduction of about 17,000 people within a month. When adjusted for seasonal factors, the unemployment rate is even lower at 2.8%.
A broader measure of unemployment, which includes those who have given up looking for work, stopped working in the past two years, or are on employer-initiated leave, also saw a decline. This figure dropped from about 200,000 people (4.4%) to 179,000 (3.9%), a decrease of roughly 20,000 individuals.
Despite the positive unemployment figures, the labor force participation rate saw a slight decrease, falling to 62.1% in August from 62.5% at the end of July. This 0.4% drop, representing about 30,000 people, could be attributed to factors such as an increase in retirements or young people delaying entry into the workforce. The CBS noted that Israel's overall labor force participation rate remains lower compared to international averages, partly due to lower employment rates among Haredi men and Arab women.
The number of available job openings also decreased, with the vacancy rate falling from 4.4% in July to 4.3% in August, equating to about 3,000 fewer positions. However, the total number of job openings remains high at approximately 143,000. The CBS views this decrease in vacancies as a positive sign, potentially indicating that current wage levels are sufficient to attract workers and reducing the likelihood of wage-driven inflation.
Significant drops in demand were observed in sectors such as waiters and bartenders (down 9%), institutional kitchen staff (down 14%), and telephone sales representatives (down 13%), although shortages persist in these areas. Demand also decreased notably for engineers (down 7%) and software developers (down 9%), yet substantial numbers of vacancies remain, with around 11,200 openings for engineers and 6,200 for software developers.
