Israeli unemployment surges in March to record 1 million amid coronavirus lockdown

The number of Israelis seeking unemployment benefits has hit one million as the country’s unemployment rate attained a record high 24.1 per cent for March, the government has announced. 

The unemployment rate stood at just 3.4 per cent in February.

844,000 have forced to apply for unemployment benefit since March 1, 90 per cent of whom have been furloughed without pay as the coronavirus outbreak and Israel’s strict lockdown regulations traumatises Israeli business.  

Statistics suggest that the economic shock has hit the young and women hardest. Nearly half of new applicants (45.6 per cent) are under the age of 35, while 57.7 per cent are women.