Unemployment was up in September, but at a slower pace, the Central Bureau of Statistics announced Sunday. There were 216,300 official unemployed in Israel in September, an 0.5% rise over the 215,200 reported in August. However, that was far lower than the average 1.9% increase between August 2008 and July 2009.

Meanwhile, 9,500 fewer people sought the Employment Authority's help in September than did in August. Forty percent of those seeking work came from Arab villages and development towns, the CBS report said.