CBS reports economic growth slowdown as Israelis get poorer

The Central Bureau of Statistics has released data on Israel’s economy in the second quarter of 2024, according to which the Finance Ministry’s chief economist updated his economic growth forecast for 2024, which he predicts will be 1.1%.

According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, economic growth in the second quarter of 2024 was only 0.2%, which indicates an annual growth rate of 0.7%. Any figure below 1.9%-2% economic growth indicates a decrease in GDP per capita, since the population growth rate in Israel is about 2% per year. Thus, slower economic growth leads to Israelis, on average, becoming poorer.

In the second quarter of this year, government consumer spending grew by 8.2% (2%) quarter-on-quarter, while private consumption spending increased by 11.4% (2.7% quarter-on-quarter).

During the specified period, compared to the first quarter of the current year, the export of goods and services decreased by 8.3%, excluding start-ups and the diamond business (2.1% on a quarterly basis). The decrease in imports of goods and services, excluding defense imports and diamonds, amounted to 5.7% (1.5% on a quarterly basis).

Compared to the second quarter of 2023, we are talking about a 1.5% decrease in GDP, a 5.1% decrease in commercial sector GDP, an increase in public consumption expenditure by 22.9%, an increase in private consumption expenditure by 1%, a decrease in imports of goods and services by 8.4%, and a decrease in exports of goods and services by 9.3%.