The national social security agency released a document showing growing gov't welfare programs

The standard of living in Israel has declined for the first time in more than 20 years as the coronavirus crisis has taken its economic toll in 2020, a poverty report by Bituah Leumi, Israel’s national social security agency, showed on Thursday.

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According to Hebrew media, the standard of living dropped by 4.4 percent, a figure last registered during the Second Intifada crisis in 2001.

However, without government financial relief plans, such as its unemployment program, the standard of living would have decreased by a whopping 22.7 percent, outlet Walla News reported.