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By Itzhak Rabihiya

Unemployment fell to 3.6% last month from 3.8% in April, the Central Bureau of Statistics reports.

Unemployment fell to 3.6% in May from 3.8% in April according to the latest workforce figures published today by the Central Bureau of Statistics.

However, the actual number of people in work fell 3% in May compared with April.

Unemployment among those aged 25-64 fell to 3.2% in May compared with 3.3% in April. Among them the percentage of men who were unemployed was 3.1% in May compared with 3.2% in April while 3.4% of women were unemployed in May, unchanged from the previous month.

"The economy is in a very good position, but at the same time we see grey clouds in the background," Governor of the Bank of Israel Amir Yaron said at the press conference to present the Bank of Israel's Annual Report for 2018. "2018 was a good year." Yaron said. "The economy grew by more than the average growth rate in the developed countries, growth was balanced, and the fear of a weakening in private consumption did not materialize. The situation in the labor market is good, real wages rose, mainly because of the private sector." Yaron did however point out that growth per capita was low.

And indeed, according to the report, wages rose, unemployment fell to a low point, housing prices stopped rising, inequality narrowed, and the rate of poverty fell. But alongside the praises and the positive figures - ammunition for Minister of Finance Moshe Kahlon's election campaign - the Bank of Israel also criticizes the finance minister's policy, which financed growth in government spending through expanding the fiscal deficit, which in 2018 reached its highest level since 2013.

According to the report, the Israeli economy grew by 3.3% in 2018, which is lower than the growth rates in 2016 and 2017, but is still in line with the economy's growth potential. GDP per capita grew by 1.3% - but despite the growth, the gap in productivity (which is one of the measures of per capita product) between Israeli workers and their counterparts in the developed countries continued to widen. 

Earlier it was reported in Globes newspaper that The latest survey by the Central Bureau of Statistics shows that unemployment fell from 4.1% in February to 3.9% in March.

The unemployment rate in israel among people over 15 fell from 4.1% in February to 3.9% in March, according to figures from the latest survey published today by the Central Bureau of Statistics.

Unemployment in March returned to the record low set a year ago, after the number of unemployed rose slightly during 2018. The new figure indicates economic expansion ahead of the upcoming interest rate decision by the Bank of Israel, which is scheduled for publication on May 20.

Unemployment totaled 4.1% in the first quarter, down from 4.2% in the preceding quarter. Employment totaled 3,965,000 in the first quarter. The proportion of employees with full-time jobs dropped to 78.5%: 87.1% among men and 69.1% among women. The average number of hours worked per employee rose from 35.8 in the fourth quarter of 2018 to 36.6 in the first quarter of this year.