(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
JERUSALEM: Israel’s unemployment rate held steady at 5.3 percent in the fourth quarter the Central Bureau of Statistics said on Sunday.
The number of employed in the October-December period rose to 3.678 million from 3.658 million in the third quarter with 60.8 percent of those 15 and older having jobs similar to the prior three months the bureau said.
The participation rate in the labour force of those 15 years old and above also was unchanged at 64.2 percent.
The jobless rate for December was 5.2 percent down from 5.4 percent in November. In all of 2015 the rate fell to 5.3 percent from 5.9 percent in 2014.
Israel’s economy grew an estimated 2.3 percent in 2015.
(Reporting by Steven Scheer)
Reuters