Economists: Unemployment rate to reach 9% by the end of 2009

According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, 35,000 workers lost their jobs in the first three months of the year
 
Economist Dr. Gil Bafman, chief economist at Bank Leumi, said last week "We expect the average monthly unemployment rate for this year to stand at 8.1%, due to a sharp drop in the number of employed people - not seen since 2003 following the recession - andthe continued increase in the number of job seekers”.
 
Despite indications that the escalating number of unemployed is starting to slow down, some economists expect the unemployment rate to reach the level of 9%by the end of the year, meaning another 40,000 workers might be out of work.
 
According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, 35,000 workers lost their jobs in the first three months of the year, boosting the rate of unemployment of the civilian labor force to 7.6%, or 228,000, from 6.5% in the previous quarter. The Bank Leumi unemployment forecast would bring the number of unemployed at the end of the year close to 270,000.