The unemployment figures for July in Israel, published last week, do not faze Minister of Finance Yuval Steinitz, who said on Sunday that there was nothing new in them. “I am unaware of any new unemployment figures”. Last week, the National Employment Service announced that 16,000 people were fired during July, a three-year high.

The number of jobseekers rose 1.2% to 211,617, in original figures, in July from 197,842 in June and 201,503 in July 2011. 35% of the jobseekers in June, 72,217 persons, were unemployed for more than 270 days during the preceding year. The number of employed rose by 0.5%, compared with June to 187,200 persons in July, in trend figures. The number of unemployed has risen steadily since November 2011.