The jobless rate dropped from 5.9 percent in the previous month, preliminary data released today by the Central Bureau of Statistics in Jerusalem showed. Unemployment in April last year was 6.7 percent.
The economy grew an annualized 4.8 percent in the first quarter, following an expansion of 7.6 percent in the previous three months, the fastest face in four years. The Bank of Israel raised its 2011 growth forecast to 5.2 percent on June 1, from 4.5 percent, and predicted the jobless rate would drop to 5.8 percent this year. Read more
