Average salary moves higher

The average gross salary in the first half of 2008 was 
1.4% higher than in 2007.

by Shay Niv 
Globes
September 7, 2008

The average gross national salary rose to NIS 8,448 in 
June from NIS 8,072 in May, the Central Bureau of Statistics 
reported today. The average gross national salary was 
NIS 8,120 in the first half of 2008, up 1.4% on the first half 
of 2007. 

Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) (TASE: ELEC.B22) and 
Mekorot employees topped the salary rankings in June, 
with an average salary of NIS 19,573, regaining the top spot 
from financial workers whose average salary dropped to 
NIS 17,203 in June from NIS 22,373 in May. The average 
salary of financial sector employees rose by 4.6% in the 
first half, compared with the second half of 2007 - the highest 
gain of any sector. In contrast, the average salary of IEC 
and Mekorot employees rose by 0.4%. 

Three sectors saw a decline in the average salary: 
community services, down 0.6%; industry, down 0.7%; and 
transportation and communications, down 0.9%. 

IEC and Mekorot employees account for 16,700 of the 
2.79 million Israeli employees in June. In comparison, 
there are more than 500,000 business services employees, 
whose average salary is NIS 8,439. The average salary of 
the 385,000 education sector employees is NIS 6,416. 

The number of Israeli wage-earners rose by 0.7% in the first 
half of 2008, compared with the second half of 2007. 
The number of financial sector employees rose by 3.4%, 
the largest increase by any sector, while the number of 
construction employees fell by 3%, the largest drop by 
any sector.