The number of job seekers is very close to the levels recorded on the eve of the corona crisis

The number of job seekers is declining, and is very close to the levels recorded on the eve of the corona crisis. This is according to the Employment Service report for January 2022. According to the report, in January the number of jobseekers active in the employment service was 168.8 thousand, very close to 164 thousand registered in February 2020. In fact, this is the lowest number since the crisis broke out.
The data of the Employment Service actually correspond with the CBS reports regarding January, according to which in January the unemployment rate fell according to the narrow definition of the CBS to 3.7% (157.2 thousand unemployed), compared to 4.1% (177.9 thousand unemployed) in December. In January 2020, on the eve of the corona crisis in Israel, this rate was 3.6%. However, the extended unemployment rate according to the CBS, which also includes people who stopped working since March 2020 and did not return to look for work (and therefore are not registered with the employment service), stood at 5.6%, which is 244,000 unemployed.