The unemployment rate in Israel jumped to 6.9% of the civilian workforce in April 2013 from 6.6% in March, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported on Friday. The number of unemployed rose to 252,000 in April, out of a labor force of 3.67 million. The unemployment rate of men rose to 7% in April from 6.7% in March, and that of women rose to 6.7% from 6.4%.

Participation in labor force of people over 15 rose to 63.7% in April from with 63.5% in March. Participation among men fell to 69.5% from 69.6%, but participation among women rose to 58.3% from 57.8%.

“All together now”, workers assembly in the Negev (Photo: Histadrut)

According to the latest OECD study, Israelis had less disposable income and worked significantly more hours than the average OECD citizen, while the country had a lower overall employment rate. People in Israel work 1,890 hours a year, more than the OECD average of 1,776 hours. Almost 18% of employees work very long hours, much higher than the OECD average of 9%, with 27% of men working very long hours compared with 8% for women,” the report said. Israel’s working class is significantly more educated than the average country, with an 8 percentage-point lead in high school education.