The cost-of-living index rose by 1.7 percent in September, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported Sunday.
The unexpectedly sharp increase drew warnings from labor and management over the state of the economy.
The price index has risen by 16.3 percent in the last 12 months and by 11.3 percent since Jan. 1. The projected annual inflation rate is now about 18 percent, higher than expected but still dramatically lower than the triple-digit figures earlier in the decade.
Dov Lautman, chairman of the Employers Association, called these figures a “red light” that point to the need for a strict economic recovery plan immediately after the Knesset elections on Nov. 1.
Haim Haberfeld, chairman of Histadrut’s trade unions department, said the index indicates an “unhealthy trend within the economy.”
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