Notably, the share of new applicants during April that have been made redundant stands at 11.3%, and a further 80.6% are employees placed on unpaid leave. During the latter half of March, redundancies stood at approximately 5% and unpaid leave at 90%.
"As it looks this evening, we are expecting to see a continuing rise in the number of redundances in the coming weeks - both due to the end of the large wave of employees placed on unpaid leave, but also because a proportion of applicants initially classified as on unpaid leave may have now became redundant," said Employment Service director-general Rami Garor.
"After the [Passover] holiday, and as far as it possible for the workforce in Israel to return to work, we will start to develop a better idea of the direction of things."
The Employment Service also noted a significant increase in minorities applying for unemployment benefits in April. Jobseekers of Muslim, Druze and Christian origin increased to 25.5% of all claimants, compared to 17.6% in March.
A similar increase was also identified among older jobseekers. Individuals aged 55 and over represent 17.6% of claims submitted in April, compared to 14.8% in March.