Israeli High-Tech Salaries Decline in July, Annual Growth Slows

The average salary in Israel's high-tech sector saw a significant monthly drop of 6.2% in July, falling from 36,584 shekels in June to 34,301 shekels. This decline has sharply reduced the annual salary increase for high-tech workers to just 2.3% compared to July of the previous year, a stark contrast to the double-digit annual increases recorded in preceding months, such as 13.7% in May and 11.7% in June. These figures are according to data released by the Central Bureau of Statistics.

Despite the decrease, the average salary in high-tech remains nearly 2.4 times higher than the general average salary in the economy. The highest average salary was observed in the scientific research and development segment, at 37,578 shekels, an area employing 46,400 workers. In the programming and computer consultancy sector, which constitutes the largest portion of high-tech employment with over 218,000 workers (55% of all high-tech employees), the average salary stood at 36,052 shekels.

The number of salaried positions in the high-tech sector in July was 397,300, a slight decrease of 0.2% from June and 0.3% from July of the previous year. While some of this decrease may be seasonal, the fact that the number of positions is lower than a year ago indicates a slowdown in employment within the sector. High-tech jobs accounted for 9.3% of all salaried positions in the economy in July, down from 9.4% in June and the previous year.

Meanwhile, the average salary across the entire Israeli economy decreased by a more moderate 0.6% in August, from 14,534 shekels in July to 14,448 shekels. This is a smaller decrease than the 1.4% drop observed between July and August of the previous year. Compared to August of the prior year, the average salary in the general economy saw a 4.2% increase. The number of salaried positions for Israelis nationwide also fell in August by 2.2% from July, a decrease attributed to seasonal factors, similar to the previous year. However, compared to August of the prior year, there was a 0.9% increase in overall salaried positions.