Despite much depressing news about various economies worldwide, Israel’s economy is actually flourishing comparatively since giving up a more socialistically structured economy and returning to capitalism.
Today Israel boasts the second highest possible credit rating, has the second fastest growing economy among OCED countries with a rising gross domestic product, is home to many R&D companies including but not limited to Facebook, Google, and IBM among other affiliates, while boasting a record low unemployment rate in the early spring of 2018 for all of the nations in the Mediterranean region.
The Israeli economy is doing well enough that many Palestinians from the West Bank are flooding into Israel in search of employment and better lives for their families, France24 reports. Upwards of tens of thousands of Palestinians have legal work permits, Palestinian officials estimate, but others work in Israeli settlements illegally because of the state of the economy and improved prosperity compared to their lives in the West Bank. This is especially true but not limited to the construction industry.
While no country on earth is immune to the struggles of poverty and the working poor, and there will always be those in need, even Israelis comment on some of the upsides of their economy.
"The cost of living is high, particularly housing,” one Israeli told France24. “On the other hand, health care, education and transportation are less expensive than in other advanced economies.”
While many of Israel’s poverty statistics may not be as encouraging, especially for immigrants making aliyah and the elderly, one encouraging statistic is that the overall number of families living in poverty has been decreasing in recent years according to the Jerusalem Post.
Written by Erin Parafet
