The Bank of Israel reported last week that Israel's economic performance index, or "S" index, rose 0.2% in January 2013, a higher rate than in the previous months.
The increase in the index in January reflects increases in imports of consumer goods and imports of manufacturing inputs, as well as an increase in the rate of vacant positions out of the total number of employed people in the business sector. In contrast, the goods and services export indices declined.
Beginning with January, the Bank of Israel changed the formulation of the index by adding indicators and upgrading its methodology. Based on the new formulation, the Composite Index is compiled based on ten monthly components: the rate of change in the Industrial Production Index; the rate of change in the services revenue index excluding the public administration, education and financial sectors, the rate of change in the trade revenue index; the rate of change in the imports of consumer products; the rate of change in imports of manufacturing inputs (excluding fuel); the rate of change in the export of goods (excluding agriculture); the rate of change in the export of services (excluding transport and startups); the rate of change in the number of employee posts in the private sector; the rate of vacant positions out of the total number of employed people in the business sector, and the rate of change in the building starts index on a six-month moving average.
In addition, the Index includes the quarterly change in business sector product, observed quarterly and not available in real time.
