The Moody's credit rating company has maintained Israel at A1, emphasizing high growth, and the need to make long-term structural changes in the labor market and ongoing geopolitical risks but given Israel a positive outlook, meaning there is a good chance that Israel's rating will be upgraded in the next 12-18 months to Aa- if the government's improvement in debt levels and fiscal performance continues, despite the possibility of upcoming elections..
Yehuda Sharoni, commentator and economic editor of Maariv, noted Israel's "unprecedented" low unemployment rate of four percent. Chairman Avi Simhon of the National Economic Council stressed, however, that the weight of the rating is insignificant, since "from the start, the financial world does not relate at all to the ratings of the State of Israel." He explained on 103FM radio that Israel's economic situation is "better, based on objective parameters," than that of the United States, and added: "We are acting economically in a very responsible manner."