Last quarter of 2019: Labor force participation rate - 78% • One in ten - high-tech worker • Kfar Saba and Petah Tikva - lowest unemployment rates

• Works at Elite Factory // Photo: Efrat Eshel

במש The unemployment rate fell to 3.4% in December, reaching only 141,500 unemployed. At the same time, the number of employed persons in the economy rose to 3.978 million people. The number of people in the civilian labor force amounted to 4.12 million. This is according to data released by the Central Bureau of Statistics yesterday.

In the final quarter of 2019, the overall unemployment rate fell to an average of 3.6% per month. The proportion of the civilian labor force of the working age rose to 80.3%, and the participation rate of the working age was 78%. The proportion of full-time employees in the fourth quarter of 2019 reached 78.4% of all employed persons.

The share of high-tech employees out of all the employees in the economy was 10% for the first time, amounting to 347,000 employed persons. This compares with 321,000 employees a year earlier. Of the counties, the lowest unemployment rate, 3.3%, was recorded in the Central District. The lowest unemployment rate in the major cities was recorded in Kfar Saba and Petah Tikva (2.6%). The average household income in Kfar Saba is the highest - more than NIS 27,000 per month. The highest unemployment rate was recorded in Jerusalem and stands at 4.5%.