JERUSALEM, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- The unemployment rate in Israel rose to 4.3 percent in October, the highest in the first 10 months of 2022, the Central Bureau of Statistics said on Monday.
The previous record this year was 3.9 percent in September.
The number of unemployed thus rose from 172,800 in September to 186,400 in October, according to the bureau's statistics.
In April 2022, the unemployment rate in Israel was as low as 3.1 percent, the lowest in 42 years.
The marking of Jewish holidays during October, following the July-August summer layoffs, contributed to the latest high unemployment figure, Gad Lior, senior analyst for Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth daily newspaper, told Xinhua.
In a broader definition, which includes another 37,700 people who are temporarily absent from work or were laid off because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the unemployment rate in Israel is currently 5.1 percent, according to the bureau. ■
