46.2% of Arab households in Israel lived in poverty in 2003, compared with 14.6% of Jewish households, according to a study by the Bank of Israel research division. The report will be published in early April this year.
The Bank of Israel research division found that the incidence of poverty among Israeli Arabs was higher than in the Jewish sector. Furthermore, the proportion of households living in poverty in the non-Jewish sector was even higher, taking into account factors like education, the family car and its size, rate of participation in the civilian labor force, and employment in various fields.
The study shows that while the poverty rate in the Arab sector in 2003 was 6% higher than in 2000, and 18.6% higher than in 1995, poverty among Jewish families has risen by only 2.3% since 2000, and by 1.2% since 1995.
Gross wages in the Arab sector averaged NIS 5,034 per month, 29% less than the NIS 7,129 per month in the Jewish sector. However, average salaries in the Jewish sector have risen by only 3.3% since 2000 (NIS 6,898), when the intifada broke out, and by 69% since 1995 (NIS 4,229). In the Arab sector, average wages have risen by 12.5% since 2000 (NIS 4,472), and by NIS 72% since 1995 (NIS 2,930).
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on March 23, 2005