Average wage rose 1.4% in first half to NIS 7,475 

by Eynav Ben Yehuda   
The Marker
September 7, 2005
 
The average gross monthly wage of Israeli workers rose 1.4% 
in the first half of 2005 compared with the parallel period of 
the year before, rising to NIS 7,475, says the Central Bureau of 
Statistics. 

Including Palestinian workers from Gaza and Samaria, the gross 
average wage drops to NIS 7,292 in the first half. 

Legal foreign workers grossed an average of NIS 3,921 in June. 

The highest public-sector wages were as usual at the Israel Electric 
Corporation and at the Mekorot water utility: NIS 15,500 a month in 
June 2005, gross, while workers at the banks and insurance 
companies grossed an average of NIS 12,200. 

Banking and financial services workers saw their gross average 
wage rise 4.5% against the same period of 2004, while in 
construction, hotels and leisure, salaries crept up by 1% on average. 

The bureau's figures show that 2.49 million Israelis hold salaried 
positions. With Palestinians and legal foreign workers, the figure is 
2.56 million. 

In April 2005, employers reported 117,600 employees holding at 
least one more job. 

The Central Bureau of Statistics says that her 27% of Israel's 
salaried workers, or 656,000 people, earned less than the average 
wage. In this group, the average wage was NIS 1,927 a month. 
About half the people working in leisure and food sectors earn less 
than the average wage, partly because almost half the workforce 
only works part time.