Israel Unemployment Ticks Up to 2.8% in March

Israel’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose slightly to 2.8% in March 2026, up from an eight-month low of 2.7% in February. The non-seasonally adjusted jobless rate, however, fell to 2.5% from 2.6%, with the number of unemployed decreasing by 3,500 to 113,900. Meanwhile, the labor force participation rate declined to 62.0% from 62.4%, signaling a modest reduction in workforce engagement. The employment rate also dropped to 60.2% from 60.8% in February.

Israel’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate declined to 2.7% in February 2026 from 3.1% in the previous month, signaling an improvement in labor market conditions. This marks the lowest reading since June last year, as the number of unemployed persons fell. Meanwhile, the labor force participation rate edged slightly lower to 62.5% from 62.7%, suggesting a modest pullback in workforce engagement. The employment rate remained unchanged at 60.8%, indicating stable job creation despite the dip in participation.

Israel’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate held at 3.0% in October 2025, unchanged from the previous month. The employment rate remained stable at 60.9%, while the labor force participation rate also stayed at 62.8%. In the non-adjusted data, the unemployment rate rose to 3.2% from 3.0%. The employment rate eased slightly to 60.4% from 61.0% in September, while the participation rate fell to 62.4% from 62.9%. Excluding persons temporarily absent for economic reasons, employment was 60.2%, down from 60.8%. Temporary absences dropped sharply: economic reasons 2.5% (5.6%), reserves 5.9% (11.7%), and other 0.5% (0.2%). Men absent for economic reasons fell to 4.1%, women to 1.3%. The total unemployed reached 145.7k, employed temporarily absent 542.2k, with 4,424.6k employed out of 7,329k aged 15+ in the population.