More upbeat signs for Israel’s economy

By ICEJ News

11 Mar 2010

The Central Bureau of Statistics had more good news for Israelis on Wednesday, announcing that the nation’s economy grew 0.7 percent last year, faster than the previous government estimate of 0.5% and bucking the global trend of economic slowdown. The Bank of Israel expects GDP to grow as much as 3.5% this year, bringing the unemployment rate below 7%, still high but lower than in most of the developed world. The growth in the economy has been helped by record numbers of incoming tourists, prompting Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov to urge hotel owners to build more hotels and renovate older ones to deal with the growing number of people coming to visit the Holy Land.

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