Israel's Average Salary Hits Record High Amidst Growing Sectoral Gaps

The average gross monthly salary in Israel reached a record 15,218 shekels in June 2026, marking a significant 7.7% increase from 14,132 shekels in June 2025. Even after adjusting for inflation, the real wage saw a substantial rise of 5.9%, indicating that salaries are growing faster than the cost of living, thereby increasing purchasing power. The labor market also showed signs of recovery, with 4.219 million salaried positions in June, a 2.1% rise year-on-year. This follows a period of stabilization after a dip in the first quarter of the year.

Despite the overall wage growth, considerable disparities persist across different economic sectors. The information and communications technology (ICT) sector leads with an average monthly salary of 33,509 shekels, while the hospitality and food services sector lags significantly behind at 6,538 shekels. In terms of employment volume, education boasts the largest number of positions, with approximately 660,800 jobs.

The high-tech industry, in particular, experienced a notable salary surge, with the average reaching 36,584 shekels in June, an 11.7% jump from the previous year. However, the number of jobs in this sector remained almost stagnant, increasing by only 0.2% to 396,900 positions, representing 9.4% of all salaried jobs. Within high-tech, scientific research and development offered the highest average monthly salary at 56,767 shekels. This suggests that while high-tech workers are receiving substantial pay increases, the sector is not significantly expanding its workforce.

Further analysis reveals wage gaps based on organizational type. Non-financial companies account for 63% of salaried jobs with an average salary of 16,262 shekels, while the government sector averages 16,047 shekels. Financial companies, despite holding only 2.6% of jobs, command the highest average salary at 23,895 shekels. In contrast, non-profit organizations and households reported much lower average salaries of 8,354 and 6,173 shekels, respectively.

Preliminary data for July 2026 suggests the upward trend in salaries is continuing, with an estimated average of 14,561 shekels for Israeli workers, a 3.5% increase from July 2025. The number of positions also grew to 4.233 million. Separately, the average salary for foreign workers in June was 9,073 shekels across 224,700 positions. The overall picture is one of a stabilizing labor market characterized by deep sectoral and organizational wage disparities, with real wages for Israeli workers rising and high-tech compensation soaring, yet lower-paying sectors and stagnant job growth in tech remain concerns.