JERUSALEM: Israel's unemployment rate edged higher to 5.3 percent in the first quarter of 2016 from 5.2 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, the Central Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday.
The number of employed in the January-March period rose to 3.693 million from 3.681 million in the fourth quarter, with 60.8 percent of those 15 and older having jobs, versus 60.9 percent in the prior three months, the bureau said.
The participation rate in the labour force of those 15 years old and above was unchanged at 64.2 percent.
The jobless rate for March was 5.3 percent, the same as in February.
Israel's economy is expected to grow 2.8 percent this year after a 2.5 percent pace in 2015.
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