Israel’s unemployment rate drops to its lowest since pandemic’s onset

Israel’s overall unemployment rate dropped slightly to 4.4% in April from 4.8% in March, the lowest it has been since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, according to data published by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS).

The overall rate includes people who were dismissed or whose workplaces have closed since March 2020 due to the pandemic, as well as those on unpaid leave who expect to return to their workplaces.

The unemployment rate excluding those affected by the pandemic stood at 2.9% in April, far lower than the pre-pandemic levels of approximately 3.5%, a 50-year low.

A total of 186,100 Israelis were not working in April, according to CBS figures, compared to 227,200 in March. Before the pandemic, an estimated 150,000 Israelis were unemployed.

After a decrease at the end of January, the average wage bounced back in February to NIS 12,052, similar to the data published at the end of 2021, according to a separate report by the CBS.