The Israeli economy is forecasted to face another year of recession as unemployment continues to rise and the gross domestic product (GDP) continues to fall. The nation’s GDP is expected to decline by approximately one percent in 2002, and the per-capita GDP by three percent, reported the Israeli Ministry of Finance.
For the past two years the Israeli economy experienced a deep recession. As a result, in 2001 GDP dropped by 0.6 percent, and the per-capita GDP by 2.9 percent, while the accumulated decline, which amounts to close to six percent in the level of GDP per capita, is unprecedented in the history of the State of Israel, stated a Ministry report.
Unemployment is most likely to reach 300,000 in 2003, according to Ministry figures, having risen from 8.8 percent in the second half of 2000 to 10.6 percent in the first quarter of 2002. Due to the delay between the unemployment cycle and the GDP cycle, the rate of unemployment may continue to grow and may even exceed the threshold of 11 percent.
The Ministry recommends that the concern for the unemployed entail a drastic reduction in the number of foreign workers, both those with a permit, and those who reside in Israel and work without a permit. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
