Almost six of every ten Israeli families believe that they had to spend more in the past year to maintain their standard of living, and more than half of Israelis agree with the claim that young people are leaving the country for economic reasons, according to a special survey for "Globes" by the Smith Institute. The survey was presented at the "Globes" 2013 Israel Business Conference on Sunday at the session with OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria and Minister of Finance Yair Lapid.
57% of the respondents said that, in 2013, they had to spend more than in 2012 in order to maintain their standard of living, and 30% of respondents said that their spending had not increased. Only 13% of respondents, out of the representative sample of 1,000 people, said that their spending on consumption had decreased.
The respondents were asked to state, which two items in their opinion rose especially sharply in 2013, causing an increase in household expenditures. 55% of the respondents cited food as the main cause of higher spending, 31% cited transportation, including car maintenance, and 23% mentioned household maintenance.
According to another survey in early 2013 for the OECD, Israelis are most worried about the ability to "make ends meet". Almost four of every ten Israelis believe that their income is insufficient for their needs. Only five other countries have a similar proportion: Austria, Turkey, Russia, Mexico, and Greece. The proportion of Israelis who feel that their income is insufficient was six times the proportion in Scandinavia.
In the "Globes" survey, respondents were asked to say whether they agreed with the statement that young people were leaving because of economic hardship. 53% of the respondents agreed with the statement, and 47% rejected it. An equally important finding was that secular educated Israelis aged 18-29 were the group that most agreed with this statement. Among secular Israelis, two-thirds said that they agreed with this statement, the proportion among young people was 63%, and the proportion among people with college education was 56%.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 9, 2013
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