An Israeli shekel coin. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – The average monthly salary in Israel has reached an all-time high of more than $2,500 per month, according to a report published by the Jewish state’s Central Bureau of Statistics.

The report said that in June, the average salary jumped 7.9 percent, or $187, to reach $2,562. Additionally, the number of employees in Israel rose 2.5 percent in the first quarter of 2015, as 82,000 people joined the workforce to bring the total number of workers to 3.41 million.

Israel’s oil and gas exploration sector pays the highest nationwide at an average salary of $5,998 a month. The next best-paid sector is banking, where employees earn an average of $5,265 a month. Senior officials in government-owned companies take home average monthly salaries of $4,751, while the Israel Electric Corporation and the Mekorot Israel National Water Company pay an average of $4,676 a month.