Bank of Israel​

The Composite State of the Economy Index remained unchanged in February (an increase of 0.02 percent), and the Index for January was revised downward, reflecting weakness of economic activity at the beginning of the year.

Generative artificial intelligence (generative AI) is expected to significantly change the labor market in the coming years. To prepare the labor market for these changes, it is important that the state ensure that the proper training is available—both for workers in jobs AI might replace and for those in roles where it will complement human labor.

Outstanding liabilities to abroad increased by approximately $27.5 billion (about 5.2 percent) in the fourth quarter, to about $554 billion at the end of the quarter. The increase was primarily due to a combination of an increase in the prices of Israeli securities held by nonresidents and the continued flow of net investments in Israel by nonresidents.

The increase in the government budget deficit, compared to the period before the war, contributed about 0.5–1 percentage points to the increase in inflation expectations

The “Yatziv reform” to regulate medical studies at faculties abroad is expected to reduce the number of new medical license recipients by 400–600 per year beginning in 2026. The reform is expected to be felt particularly in the periphery areas of the country.