Inflation has hit frightening levels for many.
Without bonus payments, workers were paid an average 4.2% wage increase in the three months to the end of March, well below the 7% inflation rate, according to the Office for National Statistics.
That means peoples living standards have fallen once again - the 5th month in a row that has happened.
However it is hard to understand what this actually means and often the numbers don't in themselves reveal the real pain of what is happening. So it is easier to see the effect on inflation by the real value of a tenner over time.
A £10 note in 1990 would now buy you only £4.72 worth of stuff. In other words, the value has more than halved. Unless your income has more than doubled - you are in a worse financial state than you were before.
I think that is an easier way of understanding it.
Source:: Calculations based on ONS figures here https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/timeseries/d7bt/mm23
Index in 1990 was 53.6. In 2000 it was 71.9. In 2010 it was 87.8. In 2022 it was 117.
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