Inflation wipes out rise in average salary as Knesset votes to raise salaries for government officials by 15%

Despite the average salary increasing nominally by 4.7% to NIS 12,214/month ($3,526/month) in September compared to a year prior, in real terms it has remained virtually the same. Still, Members of the Knesset voted to raise the salaries of MKs, ministers, the Prime Minister, the President, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, by an astronomical 15%.

According to estimates, President Yitzhak Herzog’s salary is expected to rise from NIS 64,673/month ($18,670/month) to NIS 74,374/month ($21,470/month) starting in January, while the salary of Prime Minister-elect Benjamin Netanyahu and the Speaker of the Knesset will increase to be NIS 64,797/month ($18,705/month) from NIS 56,345/month ($16,265/month).

In addition, each minister in the government will receive a monthly salary of NIS 58,274/month ($16,822/month) compared to NIS 50,673/month ($14,628/month). Knesset members will receive NIS 52,065/month ($15,030/month) compared to NIS 45,274 ($13,070/month). The leader of the opposition will receive the same salary as the ministers.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Esther Hayut’s salary will increase to almost NIS 120,000/month ($34,641/month) compared to NIS 104,000/month ($30,022/month) today, and the salaries of all judges, which varies by position, will also increase by 15%.

In contrast, the average salary for a salaried position in September was NIS 12,214/month ($3,526/month), an increase of 4.7% from the average salary in September 2021. However, when accounting for inflation, the monthly salary in September 2022 remains almost the same as last year in real terms.

It seems that the massive layoffs in the high-tech industry in recent months is not reflected in the Central Bureau of Statistics’ data. The average monthly salary in high-tech in September 2022 was NIS 27,511/month ($7,942/month), an increase of 5.1% compared to the average salary in high-tech last year.

It is important to note that the minimum salary which currently stands at NIS 5,300/month ($1,530/month) is directly affected by the calculation of the average salary, and according to the existing law, the minimum salary will be updated in April 2023 and will be 47% of the average salary determined in January by the National Insurance and is expected to increase by NIS 330 ($95) to NIS 5,630/month ($1,625/month).

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