Working Britons continue to face soaring prices hitting their pay packets despite inflation continuing to fall.
The CPI measure for Inflation has fallen in the latest figures for the month to July to 6.8 percent but many working people will see few immediate benefits.
Trades Union Congress general secretary Paul Nowak said: “It will take more than price rises slowing for working people to feel better off – especially with food bills remaining sky high.
“Real wages are still worth less today than in 2008 after the longest pay squeeze in 200 years.
“And at the same time, unemployment and insecure work are shooting up. Our economy is far from out of the woods – too many long-run challenges remain unaddressed.”
Food and drink inflation was at 14.8 percent in the year to July, well above the overall figure, although this has also dropped from 17.3 percent in June.
Liz Edwards, editor-in-chief at personal finance comparison site finder.com, spoke about what actions struggling Britons can take to keep their food bills down.
She said: “Lots of shoppers are saving by switching to the discount chains like Aldi and Lidl, and just topping up at other supermarkets.
“These two are frequently the cheapest for a weekly shop, in price-tracking studies. There’s been a boom in supermarkets offering “loyalty prices” – discounted prices to those who have a loyalty card like a Tesco Clubcard or a Sainsbury’s Nectar card.”
Neil Shah, director of research at Edison Group, warned that although food inflation is falling, other sectors are still struggling as interest rates have gone up.
He said: “When strategising for the coming months, the Bank of England will have its attention firmly fixed on core inflation (which excludes groceries and energy) and this area of inflation has not seen the same drop as food has.
“Industries, such as the property sector, which are struggling under the strain of higher interest rates will find little relief in the immediate term.”
Treasury minister John Glen told Sky News: “The Bank of England themselves think that we are on course to get to five percent by the end of the year, and then get to three percent by this time next year. We are on course then to get to the two pecent target by 2025.
“But as I say this isn’t a straight line process, there are lots of factors that go into the inflation figures and that is why the Government, working very closely with the Bank of England, are very determined by the decisions we make around public spending, around pay settlements, around not allowing more expenditure to be made, to keep focused on this target.
“Getting inflation down is the most important thing the Government can do to lay the foundations for enduring and strong growth.”
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