Sally's Design
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Orchard Lake Road, North of Maple
248-626-0886
Jobless Rate
Hits Peak
Bank Rates
Are Unchanged
Jerusalem (JPFS) - Unemploy-
ment totalled 7.7 percent in Israel
in May, the highest figure since
the first quarter of 1994, accord-
ing to the Central Bureau of
Statistics.
The jobless figure has been
rising throughout the year, with
7.6 percent out of work in April
and 7.5 percent in March, with an
average 7.3 percent for the first
quarter.
The latest figure suggests un-
employment is rapidly approach-
ing the 180,000 mark, a rise of
some 40,000 over the last year.
The Israeli Treasury, while
forecasting rising unemployment,
also predicts a decline in popula-
tion growth, one of the main fac-
tors being an anticipated decline
in the number of new immigrants,
particularly from the former So-
viet states.
While the population grew in
1996 by 2.6 percent, the predic-
tion is for a 2.3 percent rise this
year, 2.2 percent in 1998 and 2.1
percent in the following two years.
Similarly, while immigration
reached 71,000 last year, between
now and 2000 the annual inflow
is projected to slow to 60,000.
In terms of the numbers of Is-
raelis employed, as opposed to
Palestinians or foreigners, the re-
port points to a considerable de-
cline in growth. In 1996 the
annual rise was 2.4 percent, which
is likely to slump to 1.6 percent
this year. The Treasury forecasts
a slight reversal of the trend in
1998 to 1.8 percent, with growth
reaching 0.6 percent to 3.3 percent
in 1999 and 2000.
Jerusalem (JPFS) - There will
be no change in the Bank of Is-
rael's key lending rate in August,
the central bank announced.
The bank cut its interest rate
by 1.2 percent to 1.7 percent in
mid-June, as a result of the gov-
ernment's agreement to expand
the exchange-rate bands.
It is with this and other
changes in mind that Governor
Jacob Frenkel and his senior staff
decided not to make a change
again this month, according to a
statement from the bank.
The other major consideration
was the sharp increase in prices
last month - the Israeli con-
sumer price index increased a
far-higher-than-expected 1.1 per-
cent, with the 12-month total
standing at 8.5 percent in June.
The Bank of Israel once again
called on the government to
achieve its 1997 self-imposed in-
flation target of 7-10 percent. Ad-
ditionally, the bank urged the
government to set its 1998 tar-
get as soon as possible.
The government decided last
year it would do so by the end of
June, but now says it will only
set a rate once it has agreed on
next year's budget, either at the
end of August or early in
September. The eventual aim,
agreed between the government
and bank, is that inflation will be
at a similar rate to that of coun-
tries in the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and
Development, where inflation
currently averages just over
4 percent.
LEADING ISRAELI STOCKS
TRADED ON U.S. EXCHANGES
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t1 DIDLY‘
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NI.
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Symbol Name
Scitex
SC IXF
ECI Telecom
EC I LF
Teva Pharm
TEVIY
PEG Israel
IEC
Eltirt Computers •
ELBTF
Elscint LTD
ELT
Elron Electronics
ELRNF
Tadi ran
TAD
Comverse
CMVT
First Israel Fund
ISL
Exchange
NASDAQ
NASDAQ
NASDAQ
NYSE
NASDAQ
NYSE
NASDAQ
NYSE
NASDAQ
NYSE
Jul. 25
'9.82
'29.75
'61.82
'22.25
'4.12
'8.50
'14.75
'31.87
'49.56
'14.50
Aug. 1
`9.75
'32.62
'56.94
'22.56
'3.72
'8.63
'16.50
'32.06
'49.33
'14.33
Change
-S0.07
'2.87
-'4.88
'0.31
-'0.40
`0.13
'0.19
-s0.23
-'0.18
. 1 Securities,
Source: Allen Olender, Pradentut
West Bloomfield
.