State of Israel
Media Release
Fax:972-2-6521340+ Email: [email protected] Website:www.cbs.gov.il
Jerusalem
26 April, 2017
107/2017
Number of Job Vacancies January-March 20171
New as of this media release:

The monthly estimates of the number of job vacancies and the job vacancy rate are now
produced according to a statistical model. Therefore, comparisons cannot be made to the
data in previous Media Releases. The statistical model aims to reduce sampling errors
which are due to the special structure of the survey.

For the first time: the number of job vacancies by industry and by district
According to trend data for January-March 2017

A 3.8% rise in the number of job vacancies by annual calculations.

Job vacancy rate2 on average is 3.7%.
According to multi-year trend data

A sharp rise in the demand for workers in the construction sector that began in 2015 and
continued in 2016 (compared with 2014).
According to original data of job vacancies by district

Approximately 57% of job vacancies3 are in the Tel Aviv District and the Central District.

The Jerusalem District has the lowest number of job vacancies of all districts.
For the data of the Diagrams, click here
1
In January, April, July and October, an expanded Media Release which includes also job vacancies by district will
be released; in the remainder of the months a more limited Media Release on the total number of job vacancies will
be released.
2 Job vacancy rate= (job vacancies/(job vacancies + occupied employee jobs))*100
3 Excluding countrywide chain stores (see explanation below)
Written by Daniel Roach – Department of Business-Economics Statistics
For explanations and clarifications, please contact the Press Relations Unit, at +972-2-652-7845
The Jobs Vacancy Survey is the main source of information on the number of job vacancies in
Israel and has been conducted regularly by the Central Bureau of Statistics since 2009.
Data adjusted for seasonality4
In March 2017, 97,800 job vacancies were registered (compared with 95,700 in the previous month).
Additionally, the job vacancy rate was approximately 3.72% (compared with 3.64% the previous month).
Trend data5
During January-March, 2017, the number of job vacancies increased by 3.8% (by annual calculation),
following an increase of 8.6% on average during October-December, 2016.
During January-March, 2017, the job vacancy rate was approximately 3.7% on the average.
Diagram 1 – Total Job Vacancies
*The last three data trends may vary considerably
4
Seasonally adjusted data is achieved by deducting the influence of seasonality, holidays and special occasions
after removing sampling errors.
The aggregate series "total job vacancies" is comprised of a few sub-series (job vacancies by sectors). The
aggregate series adjusted for seasonality was computed in the in-direct method therefore it is an aggregate of
seasonally adjusted sub-series.
5 The trend data is estimated after removing the influence of irregularities ("noises") from the seasonally adjusted
data. Data adjusted for seasonality and trend may vary since they are recalculated every month when new original
data is added.
Job Vacancy Survey: March 2017 26/04/2017
2
Diagram 2 – Job Vacancy Rate
*The last three data trends may vary considerably
Estimation of Job Vacancies by Industry
Manufacturing, Mining and Quarrying
Data adjusted for seasonality: In the first quarter of 2017, approximately 10,225 job vacancies were
recorded in Manufacturing, Mining and Quarrying, similar to the previous quarter (10,173 job vacancies).
Trend data: In January-March, there was an 11% increase in the number of job vacancies, compared
with January-March, 2016
Job Vacancy Survey: March 2017 26/04/2017
3
Diagram 3 – Total Job Vacancies in Manufacturing, Mining and Quarrying
Job Vacancy Survey: March 2017 26/04/2017
4
Construction
Data adjusted for seasonality: During January-March, 2017, approximately 12,170 job vacancies were
recorded in the construction sector, similar to the number of job vacancies in the previous quarter
(12,194 job vacancies).
Multi-year comparison based on trend data: In 2015, there was a sharp rise in the demand for workers in
the construction sector with an average of 9,060 job vacancies, compared with an average of 6,517 job
vacancies in 2014.
This rise in demand for workers during 2015 matches an increase in construction starts in that year,
compared with the previous year (52,800 starts in 2015 compared to 47,000 in 2014).6
Diagram 4 – Total Job Vacancies in Construction
6
Publication on construction starts and construction completed (original data).
Job Vacancy Survey: March 2017 26/04/2017
5
Trade
Seasonally adjusted data: Approximately 14,257 job vacancies were recorded in January-March,
2017, this estimate is low compared with an average of 14,857 job vacancies during OctoberDecember, 2016.
Multi-year comparison based on trend data: The estimate for job vacancies has increased from
8,600 job vacancies on average in 2013 to an average of 13,500 job vacancies in 2016-2017 (until
March 2017).
Diagram 5 – Total Job Vacancies in Trade
Job Vacancy Survey: March 2017 26/04/2017
6
Services7
Seasonally adjusted data: There was stability in the number of job vacancies in the first quarter of
2017 (59,568) compared with the previous quarter, fourth quarter of 2016 (59,275).
Multi-year comparison based on trend data: The number of job vacancies has increased
significantly since 2013 with an average of 59,568 job vacancies in the first quarter of 2017
compared to 38,178 in the first quarter of 2013. This increase in job vacancies matches an
increase in employment seen in the various service industries. This indicates an expansion in the
share of services in the business sector.
The table below8 shows that the number of employee jobs in the service industries has increased
by 10.8% compared with 2013, whereas during these years the number of employee jobs in the
economy as a whole has only increased by 9.3%.
Diagram 6 – Total of Job Vacancies in Services
7
Includes industries such as transportation, accommodation and food, information and communications, real estate
activities, education, health and culture and entertainment.
8 Data for wages and employment.
Job Vacancy Survey: March 2017 26/04/2017
7
Table 1 – Number of Employee Jobs
Number of employee jobs in
services industries (thousands)
Number of employee
jobs in total economy
(thousands)
2013
2014
2015
2016
2,049
2,118
2,189
2,270
3,205
3,293
3,386
3,499
Percentage of
Change
2016 vs. 2013
10.8%
9.3%
Year
Job Vacancies by Business Size
The following is produced from original data that is not seasonally adjusted.
Shown below is the number of job vacancies by the size of the business, according to the number
of employees.
A multi-year analysis shows that the number of job vacancies in small businesses (with 5-9
employees) has increased by more than 100% since 2013 until the first quarter of 2017. The size
group of 50-99 employees has had a relatively small increase (30%) relative to the other size
groups during the same time period.
Diagram 7 – Total Job Vacancies by Business Size
Job Vacancy Survey: March 2017 26/04/2017
8
Job Vacancy Estimates by District
The estimates are calculated for businesses with geographical locations (at least one) in the same
district. Therefore, the estimates only account for 80-85% of the survey population.
Countrywide chains or businesses which have locations in several districts are not accounted for in the
estimates.
The job vacancy estimates by district are calculated according to original data (without the
implementation of the statistical model).
Diagram 8 – Average Job Vacancies by District, Data from 2016
*Data from the Judea and Samaria Area were joined with data from the Jerusalem District since it has a small estimate with a large sampling
error.
Job Vacancy Survey: March 2017 26/04/2017
9
Diagram 9 – Distribution of Job Vacancies by District
It is worth noting that 57% of job vacancies are in the Tel Aviv and Central Districts.
Job Vacancy Survey: March 2017 26/04/2017
10
Diagram 10 – Comparing Distributions by District: Job Vacancies Versus Employed Persons
(from the Labour Force Survey)
Comparing the distribution of job vacancies by district to the distribution of employed persons taken from
the Labour Force Survey9 shows that the percentage of job vacancies in the Tel Aviv and Central
Districts is significantly higher than the percentage of employed persons (57% of job vacancies
compared to 50% of employed persons10).
In the Jerusalem District, the opposite is true, and the percentage of job vacancies is 9% while the
percentage of employed persons11 is approximately13%.
Job Vacancies Based On Job Vacancy Survey (2011 Classification)
9
The population of the Labour Force Survey is different than the population of the Job Vacancy Survey and
includes businesses with less than five employees and independent businesses that do not employ salaried
workers.
10 By district employed
11 After adjusting for the Job Vacancy Survey (removing agriculture and public sector)
Job Vacancy Survey: March 2017 26/04/2017
11