Behind a lot of the headlines on inflation (soaring energy and fuel costs in particular), there’s one other important factor to bear in mind – particularly for people on low incomes.
While the CPIH inflation rate puts the impact of inflation on food costs at 4.8%, for people on low incomes, this figure is masked by the fact that more expensive foods have barely changed in price. High-quality ready meals, for example, can be bought for the same price as they were some years ago, but food staples like Rice (344% increase) and Pasta (141% increase) have gone up dramatically.
Woke up this morning to the radio talking about the cost of living rising a further 5%. It infuriates me the index that they use for this calculation, which grossly underestimates the real cost of inflation as it happens to people with the least. Allow me to briefly explain.
— Jack Monroe (@BootstrapCook) January 19, 2022
The whole thread is worth reading, and plenty of people did read it because it’s resulted in changes to the way that inflation is calculated.
Listen from 7mins 50sec in on BBC’s More or Less programme for a rigorous look at the stats here.
But this means that – if you’re on a low income, you need to be looking for a much higher pay-rise if your standard of living is even going to stand still.