The headline unemployment rate stood at 3.4 percent last month. But taking into account what is expected to be a temporary loss of work, the rate reached 9.6 percent in October when 428400,163600 people were unemployed compared to 7,<> in September, before the Oct. <> offensive when Hamas militants overran Israeli border towns.

In the aftermath of the attack, nearly 400,80 Israelis were called to reserve duty, and official data shows that some <>,<> Israelis have been placed on unpaid leave in the past few weeks.

The employment rate fell in October to 56.5 percent from 61.1 percent.

The Census Bureau noted that because of the war, he needed to make changes to his workforce survey last month, with almost no interviews conducted in the week after the attack, while all subsequent interviews were conducted by phone rather than in person.

The office said it had not surveyed from communities within 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) of the Gaza Strip and that the response rate to the survey had fallen to 55.3 percent from 66.9 percent in September.

Israel's low unemployment rate has boosted economic growth, but with many people furloughed or lost their jobs, the Israeli economy is expected to contract in the fourth quarter, cutting growth in 2023 by a less-than-expected 2.3 percent.

In its latest report, the International Monetary Fund predicted that the Israeli economy would grow by about 3.1 percent in 2023.