The study examined differences in job search intensity, as well as attitudes toward unemployment and related responses among a sample of 559 jobless Israelis. Groups of participants were distinguished according to sex, age, and length of unemployment. The findings revealed that job search intensity, psychological stress, and work centrality were highest among participants who had been unemployed for 2 to 3 months, and gradually declined for longer periods of unemployment. Moreover, middle‐aged participants spent more hours per week searching for jobs and mentioned fewer advantages of unemployment than did the younger groups. Furthermore, women reported a sharper decline in health as a result of unemployment, as well as lower levels of work centrality.