Israeli Standard Of Living Up 6.8%

Israel Hayom reports:

Despite continued complaints about rising costs, figures released Thursday by the Central Bureau of Statistics show that the standard of living in Israel has actually risen at an annual rate of 6.8% since the beginning of the year.

 

The data show that the economy's rate of growth exceeded even that of the most ambitious forecasts, and that in the fourth quarter of 2010 the standard of living rose by 7%, with overall private consumption rising by 8.8% in the first quarter of 2011.

The rise in Israel's standard of living is also apparent from figures on the purchase of cars and electric appliances, which went up by 42.5% per capita in the first quarter, following a sharp 48% jump in the previous quarter.

Purchase of other basic consumer goods such as clothes, shoes, beverages and overseas travel went up by a more modest 2.8%.

According to the data, the Israeli economy expanded in the first quarter of the year by an annual rate of 4.8%, following rapid growth of 7.6% in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Per capita income went up 2.6%, hitting a record high of NIS110,000 which means that the per capita income crossed the $30,000 mark for the first time, reaching an unprecedented level of $31,500. The economy's total output exceeded NIS 840 billion, over $240 billion.