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A big surprise with the publication of the consumer price index: the index for the month of May rose by only 0.2%, just like in May last year, and below the forecasts of the analysts who expected it to be between 0.5% and 0.7%. Because of this, the annual inflation rate remains at 2.8%, and still meets the target set by the government (1%-3%)

A review by the chief economist at the Ministry of Finance indicates that in Israel, the corona crisis did not lead to a wave of resignations and a mass exit from the labor market. According to the review, as of June 2022, the employment and participation rates in Israel have somewhat exceeded their pre-crisis level. The employment rate of those aged 15 and over in June 2022 was 61%, 0.1 percentage point higher than before the crisis, and the participation rate (63.4%) exceeded its pre-crisis level by half a percentage point. Nominally, the number of participants in the labor market in June...

The price of the economic corona: The government debt has reached almost a trillion shekels. In 2020, government debt increased by about 20% and stood at NIS 984 billion each, compared to NIS 823 billion last year. The government deficit more than tripled during 2020 and has reached unprecedented proportions since the 1980s. Add to this the dramatic drop in tax revenues recorded at the beginning of the crisis and the ongoing budget, it will be possible to understand the magnitude of the event that took place in the offices of the Accountant General Unit, responsible for providing funding...

The Ministry of Finance is expected to announce in the coming days assistance to the aviation and tourism industries in Israel, in light of the fear that these industries will suffer another severe blow in the coming months due to the spread of the new Corona strain, Omicron, and additional restrictions on flights. On Sunday, the Ministry of Finance decided that there is no escape from assistance to these two industries, which have been affected more than any other industry in the economy since the Corona crisis began in March 2020. However, it is now clear that further heavy damage is...

The Social Security website crashed on Wednesday afternoon and soon returned to activity for the most part. The Social Security explains that the reason for the fall was a cyber attack on the site. According to the Social Security, the attack focused on loading information on the site and was handled by the Social Security cyber and computer personnel. The Social Security emphasizes that no databases were hacked at all and that public information is preserved. The Social Security cyber and computing blocked access from abroad, thus returning the site to operation. Alex Steinberg, product...

The State Comptroller's interim report on the handling of the corona crisis reveals a long list of shortcomings that need treatment. However, it does not touch on the main failure: decision-making in the government and in the Corona Cabinet. Even those who agree with Matanyahu Engelman's view that there is no room for personal criticism of decision-makers will find it difficult to justify the lack of criticism of decision-making processes. In doing so, the comptroller misses an opportunity for a thorough repair, and instead of going up to the government floor, he stays in the field clerks

The Bank of Israel today publishes the annual report for 2020, which includes an extensive review of the effects of the corona on the economy. The bottom line, the report notes, is that there are considerable differences between sectors in the economy and society. Weaknesses of the socio-economic safety net and gaps between sectors. According to the report, the approval of the state budget for 2021 is essential to set priorities and implement plans to accelerate growth, especially in the areas of human capital and investment in public transport, communications, energy and environmental...

Less than two years after the outbreak of the corona crisis in Israel, for the first time, the basic number of unemployed in Israel fell below the level that was on the eve of the spread of the plague. In the first half of January this year, there were only 148.3 thousand unemployed in Israel, which is 3.5% of the labor force. This is compared to 160,000 unemployed and 3.8% unemployment at the beginning of 2020. The Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) reported on Monday that the broad unemployment rate, which includes the unemployed due to Corona-related causes, did not fall in the first...

132,275 Israelis were diagnosed last week as positive for Corona, 10,354 of them yesterday (Saturday). For comparison, in the week between February 6 and 12, 240,756 positive for the virus were diagnosed in Israel, a decrease of about 45%. If the downward trend continues at a similar pace, it is likely that in the coming days less than 10,000 positive viruses will be diagnosed in Israel in the next few days. At the same time, the coefficient of infection has remained stable over the past three days and stands at 0.67 - indicating a decline in the epidemic. Data from the Ministry of Health...