The unemployment rate continued to drop in the month of March, dipping by 0.5 percent in what Israel National Employment Service (INES) director Yossi Farhi called another sign of economic recovery. The unemployment rate at the end of March was 7.3 percent.
A total of 11,300 people lost their jobs in the first three months of 2010, compared to 19,200 in the first three months of 2009. In March, 1,037 of those who lost their jobs were over the age of 54, compared with 2,055 in March 2009.
The decrease in the number of veteran employees losing their jobs is another sign of economic recovery, Farhi said. Older employees are more likely to be laid off during an economic crunch, while during more prosperous times, those most likely to lose their jobs are between the ages of 25 and 34.
A total of 17,310 people joined the workforce in March, 72 percent after having been laid off from a previous job.
The Employment Service received 26,000 requests for employees from various employers, compared with 24,200 such requests in March of last year. The majority of the requests, 12,200, were for non-professional workers. Employers sought 5,000 workers in construction and industry, 4,000 in sales and customer service, and 1,100 security guards.
"The goal at INES is to improve job-seekers' ability to find employment by giving technological and pedagogical tools that allow greater familiarity with the job market,” Farhi said