The average wage in 2020 was NIS 11,538, an increase of 7% - The number of jobs 3.369 million

The average wage in 2020 was NIS 11,538, an increase of 7% compared to 2019, according to CBS data published today (Thursday). The number of jobs per employee was 3.369 million - a decrease of 10% compared to the past year. Were recorded in the hospitality and food services industry with a decrease of 41% in the number of employee jobs and in the arts, entertainment and leisure industry in which there was a decrease of 35.7% in the number of employee jobs.
Since 2012, the average wage in the economy has increased by 1.7% -3.6% compared to the previous year, but due to the corona crisis, and especially since most of the fired or unpaid workers are low-wage workers, the average wage has risen by 7%. In the hospitality and food services industry, which was hit hardest by the crisis, the average wage per employee is only NIS 5,138, and in the arts, entertainment and leisure sector it is NIS 7,259. In occupations that were hardly affected by the crisis, such as the information and communication industry and the financial and insurance services industry, the average wage remained stable. Around NIS 19,500-24,000 thousand.
Also, during the previous decade the number of jobs has consistently increased by about 2.6% per year. However, in light of the spread of the virus in Israel and the closure policy that led to the closure of thousands of jobs, the number of jobs per employee fell by 10%. Inevitably, when the number of jobs decreases, the unemployment rate in the economy increases and during 2020 it was 18.2% (according to the extended definition of the CBS) compared to 3.8% in the previous year. There are 517.5 thousand job vacancies.In the health, welfare and welfare services industry there are 435.8 thousand job vacancies and in the manufacturing industry 330.6 thousand jobs.
The average wage in the high-tech industry in 2020 continued to be high and stood at NIS 24,976 gross, an increase of 6.1% compared to the previous year. The highest salary was recorded in the field of research and scientific development with an average salary of NIS 29,654 gross, while the "lowest" salary in the industry was recorded in the field of communication services with an average salary of NIS 15,735 gross. In 2020, the number of employee jobs in the high-tech field was 321.7 thousand, a decrease of 0.5% compared to the previous year.
The outbreak of the corona plague affected both the reduction in the volume of work in terms of the number of employee jobs and the average wage per employee job of foreign workers. In 2020, the average wage per employee job of foreign workers was NIS 6,649, an increase of 1.0% compared to 2019, following an increase Of 5.4% in 2019 compared to 2018. Thus in the health, welfare and welfare services industry the average wage increased by 9.6% and it stands at NIS 4,429 and in the construction industry the average wage increased by 7.1% and stands at NIS 8,785.
Data on wage and employment indices are based on monthly reports by employers to the National Insurance Institute. Employers' reports include the number of workers employed in that month and the total wages paid to them, but they do not include workers who are in the IDF. In addition, wage and employment data do not include workers who receive unemployment benefits from the National Insurance Institute.