CBS Says Hundreds of Thousands Returned to Work as Jobless Rate Stayed Low

Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics said May 2026 data show a sharp improvement in the labor market, with the number of people actually working rising by about 769,000 and absences from work falling by more than 60%. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate edged down to 2.8% from 3.0% in April.

According to the expanded labor force survey released Monday, the number of workers absent from their jobs for the entire week fell 60.6%, from about 503,000 in April to about 198,000 in May. Absences for economic reasons dropped 85.7%, while the number of workers who were on the job full-time during the reference week rose 33.6%.

The original data also reflected the impact of the security situation, especially among men. The share of men absent because of reserve duty rose from 20.7% in April to 26.1% in May, while absences for economic reasons fell from 25.3% to 12.3%. Among women, the economic-reason absence rate declined from 27.6% to 7.9%.

Regional figures showed large gaps across the country. Tel Aviv District had the highest labor-force participation and employment rates, and together with the Central District recorded the lowest unemployment rate, 2.4%. Jerusalem District had the lowest participation and employment rates and the highest unemployment rate, 4.1%.

The CBS also said the high-tech sector continued to shrink. The number of salaried workers in the field fell in May to about 430,000 in original data and about 420,000 seasonally adjusted, equal to 11.4% of all salaried employees. About 12,000 unemployed people who had left jobs in the past two years came from the information and communications sector. The bureau added that, from January 2026, its figures are based on the 2022 census estimates and refer only to Israelis.