The cost of living index rose by 12.4 percent during July, the highest ever rate for July since the establishment of the State and twice the rise in July, 1983.
The increase during June was 13.3 percent, but the slight reduction in July does not herald a decline in the rate of inflation as July is traditionally a lower rate of increase month than June, the Central Bureau of Statistics noted.
Since January, the index has risen by 150 percent, and by 354 percent during the past 12 months. At the present monthly average increase of about 14 percent, inflation during 1984 is expected to be about 400 percent.
On the basis of average prices for 1980 serving as base 100, the general index now stands at 4.934 — a 50-fold increase in prices in four years.
Under the agreement between the employers and the Histadrut, wage eamers will be compensated by another increase of about 10 percent in August salaries to be paid on September 1.
As is usual, the Finance Ministry blamed the Histadrut for failure to agree on a wage package deal, while the Histadrut blamed the government for failure to take adequate steps to lower inflation.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
