The National Insurance Institute is presenting for the first time in Israel the "Complete Israel Salary Report", which provides complete data on the state of the Israeli wage market, in various segments.
On Thursday, we salute national-civilian service personnel from Haredi society: Want to participate?
Instead of relying on sample surveys as the Central Bureau of Statistics does, the National Insurance data relies on actual data reported by employers of more than 3.5 million employees in 2023-2024.
On average per month of work in the period under review, approximately 3.9 million jobs were reported for total wage payments of 52.6 billion shekels.
The report shows that the average gross monthly salary for an employee in 2024 was 14,657 shekels - compared to the average gross monthly salary for an Israeli employee position, which was 13,385 shekels.
According to the National Insurance Institute, the average wage is in the seventh decile of the wage distribution - meaning that only 30% of employees earn more than the average wage, and 70% earn less than it.
According to the report, only 20% of workers in Israel earn more than 20,493 shekels gross per month. Only 10% earn more than 30,101 shekels gross per month and belong to the top decile.
The report indicates a large difference of NIS 4,289 between the median wage and the average wage - a gap of NIS 411.3. The median wage is the wage that half of the workers earn less than and half earn more than.
The gap between the average and median wages is an indicator of inequality - a large gap indicates that a few workers with very high wages are raising the average. In 2024, the median wage was NIS 10,368 compared to an average wage of NIS 14,657. This means that in reality, half of workers in Israel earn less than NIS 10,368.
The Iron Sword War left a clear mark on the labor market: the number of employers reporting to the National Insurance Institute fell by 31% in November 2023, reaching its lowest number that year. The number of employees also fell by 2.41% between October and November 2023 - the most significant decline in the entire period under review. The decline was caused mainly by men, who were more affected by the call-up to the reserves.
In parallel with the decrease in the number of employees, the average and median wage figures actually increased due to the outbreak of the war: between October and November 2023, the median wage increased by 5.1% and the average wage by 4.4%.
And more data:
• Among the 27 largest cities in Israel with more than 75,000 residents, the average monthly salary was highest in Ra'anana (21,534 shekels), Herzliya (21,473 shekels), Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut (21,148 shekels), and Tel Aviv (20,655 shekels).
• The largest cities where the average salary was the lowest were Modiin Illit (7,841 shekels), Bnei Brak (9,073 shekels), Rahat (9,123 shekels) and Nazareth (9,643 shekels).
Likewise, the average monthly salary for 2024 in the city of Jerusalem was NIS 11,216, in Haifa NIS 15,723, in Rishon LeZion NIS 15,655, in Ashdod NIS 12,596, in Holon NIS 13,853, in Ramat Gan NIS 19,206 and in Rehovot NIS 16,430.
Zvika Cohen, CEO of the National Insurance Institute: "For years, the National Insurance Institute has worked to produce a salary report that will be a central tool in economic decisions about the Israeli economy. Thanks to the report, decision-makers, relevant ministries and the public will receive a transparent view of the situation in the economy on a monthly basis, a breakdown by industry, city, gender, significant salary deviations and accurately examine the 'behavior of the economy.' In the future and in the National Insurance Institute's vision, it is to use this data to reduce bureaucracy, integrate salary data and thus save documents from Israeli citizens while at the same time ensuring better utilization of rights for those who need it."
Nitza Kasir, Deputy Director of the National Insurance Institute's Research Administration: "The National Insurance Institute's salary report is a significant breakthrough for the Israeli economy. From now on, we will be able to provide data that has not been seen before in Israel, certainly not at the level of accuracy of salaried workers in Israel, and to anticipate crises before they break out, to analyze in short periods of time situations of economic slowdown, impact on the state budget, economic contribution to the economy, reflection of changes in wages, wage inequality, early retirement, and more. This is a report that has never been seen before in Israel and can be a significant tool for outlining policy for decision-makers."
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