Slight increase in the unemployment in Israel in December 2022: reached a rate of 4.3%

The number of people employed in the economy in December 2022 reached 4.25 million - an increase of about 40 thousand jobs compared to November of the same year. Although there was a slight increase in December in the unemployment rate to 4.3%, it was mainly caused by the effect of the increase in the participation rate in the labor market. The data were published today (Monday) by the Central Bureau of Statistics.
The fears of damage to the labor market due to the increase in interest rates are not materializing, as of now. The unemployment rate did rise in December, and if seasonal effects are deducted, it stabilizes at a level of 4.2% compared to 3.9% in November.
However, at the same time, there was an increase in the share of co-workers in the labor market (employed and not employed) to the level of 63.6% compared to 63.1% in November (seasonally adjusted). This means that although there are more unemployed, this situation is caused by the fact that citizens who were not in the labor market decided to start looking for work - and this is actually positive news.
The unemployment figures are much more optimistic than the early forecasts. Only in January 2022 did the research division of the Bank of Israel estimate that the unemployment rate in the last quarter of 2022 would reach 4.8% - and now the figure is significantly lower.
At the same time, the Central Bureau of Statistics published today the third update to the national accounts in 2022. According to the previous estimate, the economy grew in the third quarter at an annual rate of 1.9%.
Along with the increase in the unemployment rate, there was also a welcome increase in the employment rate in the economy, to 61.0% in December compared to 60.6% in November. This statistic reveals that as the price increases and interest rate increases continue and oppress some Israelis, more of them join the labor market and this is also one of the reasons for the increase in the unemployment rate, since not everyone finds work. This is another increase after the employment rate was 60.3% in October.
  Together with those who stopped working due to layoffs or workplace closures since the beginning of the Corona crisis in March 2020, the unemployment rate reached 5.1%, which is 228.3 thousand unemployed in December, compared to a similar rate, but only 224.0 unemployed in November.
With those giving up looking for work in December, the unemployment rate rose to 5.5%, which is 245.9 thousand unemployed, compared to 5.4%, which is 237.5 thousand unemployed in November.
The "desperate" are those aged 15 and over who were interested in working but have been looking for work for 12 months and have not found a job that suits them in their profession, in their area of residence, in terms of the salary and working hours offered to them, their interest in the job, or a lack of appropriate experience or training, language difficulties or advanced age or Too colorful for the proposed job.
In total, at the end of 2022 there were almost 7 million people aged 15 and over in Israel who could work (6,955,700), of which 4,424,500 women and men were in the labor force, which is 63.8%. 2,521,100 Israelis did not look for work and therefore did not participate in the labor force, and they made up 36.2% of the Israelis who could work according to the international definitions.