According to figures released last week by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) the Israeli economy grew by 4.5% in the third quarter.
The CBS noted that the growth in Q3 followed rapid growth of 6.4% in the Q2 and of 3.5% in the first.
Public consumption grew by 9.2% in the third quarter,at exactly the same growth rate as in the second quarter. Private consumption, on the other hand, grew up by only 1.6%.
Among the components of private consumption, spending on consumer durables (like household appliances, TV sets, washing machines, furniture) fell by 19.5% per head in the third quarter, after rising by 29.2% in the Q2.
The business sector grew by a high rate of 7.4% in the third quarter, after an even higher growth of 7.7% in the second quarter. In the first three months of the year, though, the business sector expanded by only 3.6%.
