The share of flex workers in the country’s total working population continues to rise, increasing by 2.5% in the final quarter of 2017, the national statistics office CBS said on Monday. The number of people on a fixed contract was 2.2% higher in the same period compared to fourth quarter of 2016.

Some 5.3 million people now have a permanent job, or around 60% of the total people with jobs. Two million people have a flexible contact and 830,000 people are classed as self-employed.

The situation has changed significantly over the past 15 years.  In 2003 nearly 75% of workers have permanent contracts.

The majority of people on short term or flexible contracts have a call-out contract (546,000), 362,000 have a flexible contract which could become permanent and 277,000 work through staffing agencies, the CBS said.