according to preliminary trend data for October 2011, the unemployment rate reached 5.0% of the total civilian labor force
The Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) reported last week that according to preliminary trend data for October 2011, the unemployment rate reached 5.0% of the total civilian labor force, a 20-year low figure and down from 5.7% in April.
The data were based on monthly trend data calculations from the Labor Force Survey.
Unemployed persons are those who did not work at all during the determinant week (even for one hour), and who actively sought work during the four weeks preceding their enumeration in the survey, by registering with the Labor Exchanges of the Employment Service, by personal or written application to employers, or by other ways, and would have been available to start work in the determinant week had suitable work been offered.
The jobless rate has fallen, according to the CBS, from 7.9% in May-June 2009 to less than 6% this year. Since July, however, the figures released by the CBS have been inconsistent.
According to the data published Monday, divided by months, the jobless rate dropped from 5.7% in April to 5.6% in May, 5.3% in July, 5.2% in August and 5.1% in September.
