Matam High-Tech Park at the southern entrance to Haifa is the largest and oldest dedicated technological park in Israel. The buildings in Matam at the front of the picture are of Intel and Elbit Systems. Photo: Zvi Roger/Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – Israel’s cost of living is rising more slowly than that of other developed countries, but remains high.

According to a report published on Monday by the Taub Center, Israeli unemployment is at its lowest in years, with consumer prices in Israel falling by 5.2 percent relative to the OECD average and with wages increasing.

Israel’s employment rate is currently at 78 percent, having risen by 7 percent among men and 13 percent among women—more than in all other OECD countries.

However, the discrepancy between high earners and those below the poverty line remained among the highest in the OECD, according to the report.

The report comes as Israel announced a 2019 wave of price hikes for electricity, water, gas, cell phones, food, drink, insurance and property tax.