Unemployment in Israel jumps to 10% in October due to the war
The unemployment rate in Israel rose to about 10% in October after the war with Hamas displaced tens of thousands of people who were living near the border with the Gaza Strip, the Central Bureau of Statistics said on Monday.
The headline unemployment rate stabilized at 3.4% last month.
The unemployment rate reached 9.6% in October, with 428,400 people unemployed, compared to 163,600 in September, before Hamas fighters attacked southern Israel on October 7.
Israel called up nearly 400,000 reserve forces to serve following the attack.
Official data showed that Israel granted about 80,000 Israelis unpaid leave in the past few weeks.
The employment rate in October fell to 56.5 from 61.1%.
The low unemployment rate supported Israel’s economic growth, but with many people losing their jobs or being on leave, the economy is expected to contract in the last quarter, and to grow by only 2.3% in 2023, which is less than expected.
