Local inflation increases by more than 3%
(CNS): New figures from the Economics and Statistics Office show a worrying trend for Cayman, with inflation growing by 3.2% in the first quarter of 2018. Although the country saw what officials described as “robust growth” through 2017, with the gross domestic product rising by 2.9%, the inflation level is impacting the man on the street more significantly, given anecdotal evidence that wages remain relatively stagnant, though there are no formal measurements for national pay rates.
The ESO, which released a catalog of data Thursday, said the hike in the consumer price index (CPI) related to rises in the cost of electricity, fuel, food, medicines and airfares. Despite the steep spike in the cost of living, imports continued to grow in the first quarter of this year, with the value of merchandise brought into the country increasing by 8.9% to $248.22 million, compared to the $227.92 million worth of goods imported into Cayman during the first three months of last year.
There was a 7.5% increase in the value of imports of non-petroleum goods and a 20% increase in petroleum-related goods, which, since the total volume fell marginally, was largely due to price increases of around 18.6%.
Meanwhile, the CPI showed that household costs went up for the average consumer by 21.5% in the first quarter of this year with electricity accounting for 16.5% of that increase alone, compared to last year, a significant increase for individuals and a major cause of the inflation. With fuel costs up more than 5.7% as well, the increases in medicine costs and everyday food items, such as fruits, vegetables, milk, cheese and eggs, means that while the economy may be doing well more broadly, people on low wages are feeling a much greater negative impact.
The ESO also released its annual Economic Report for 2017, which showed solid performances in tourism, construction and financial services — all helping to fuel the 2.9% increase in GDP. The 2017 GDP is the third highest growth rate since 2008 and was broad-based, as all sectors expanded.
The hotel and restaurant sector had the highest estimated growth of 8.5% due to increases in air and cruise passenger arrivals. The other top four industries with the highest estimated growth rates were construction (7.2%), mining and quarrying (5.9%), producers of government services (3.7%), and real estate, renting and business activities, mainly legal and accounting services (2.9%)
For more information visit the ESO website
Hows the Marcia Griffiths and Cutty Ranks song go?
So unnu nah wan open up unnu eye?
So unnu wan’ me open it fi unnu?
I notice: dem say that what due to Caesar, give to Caesar
But what Caesar doin’ for me an’ you?
Nutting!
Eeeeh?
[I was drawn into myself]
Myself!
[Observing all this time
From every angle that I see
My people, you’re meeting hell]
Marcia dem a feel it!
[So brothers have turned to crime
So they die from time to time]
Dem no stop die.
[We’d like to ask you leaders
What have you got in mind?]
The people dem a fool, an’ dem a half idiot
Dem no see the food prices wan’ boycott
Dem a fool, an’ dem a half idiot
Dem no wan’ fi demonstrate, an’ mek the food price drop
Dem a fool, an’ dem a half idiot
Some a dem a pose up, a gwan like dem a big shot
Dem a fool, an’ dem a half idiot
Tell all the big bwoy seh, dey better turn back, ’cause:
[Fire fire f-f-fire, fire fire fire, fire burning
give thanks with a grateful heart…give rhanks to Jesus Christ, who died for all…..give thanks!????☺
3% a month more like….
Cue plenty melodrama from the mediocre.
My husband started his present job a little over 12 years ago. The hourly wage was $5.50 plus a flat monthly amount all staff received of $150 a month. That money didn’t go far. 11 years later, the wage is now brought up to minimum wage at $6.00 an hour but to do that, the company removed the flat amount. So basically the wage for that job is the same now that it was 11 years ago. We were told the wage was at that same rate long before he joined too. Meanwhile the company has been increasing the rates of its products until many are now more than double what they were 12 years ago. Where has all that extra income gone? Not into the pockets of the hardworking employees.
It’s the usual story. The rich people get richer and the regular folks, the workers are finding it harder and harder to make ends meet. We managed to save a few dollars in the early days but now we dip into our savings every month because the wages aren’t enough any more, even with very frugal living.
Where is the justice in this? Why is the minimum wage not increasing each year, at least by inflation?
Every thought that in a changing technology and knowledge led economy your husband’s skill sets have reduced in economic value over time?
Has his employer bothered to upgrade his skills ? Or provided opportunities ? Clearly he has been a good employee all these years if he is still there. Why haven’t they embraced him trained him and ensured that he moved up the economic ladder ? I’ll tell you why? Cheap labour addiction and greed
Train yourself man!
Why look for someone to provide hand-outs?
Head off it man!
A decent living wage is not a handout. It is an exchange of work for reward. But that reward keeps declining in real terms due to the effect of inflation even though the product from that work (the price of the service he offers to customers) keep increasing.
As this continues over time, his buying power decreases.
And yes he has undertaken 4 additional relevant qualifications in that time, all paid for at his own expense.
Specifically the food inflation over the last 5 years is astounding.
Buckle down baby
why dont government make a store that sell essential goods at a reduced rate? help your poor people…rather than let us waste away paying the price gougers and supporting the rich with their greed? a concerned native????
Fidel is that you???
No – but charging full import duties on basic foodstuffs is abhorrent and makes Cayman unaffordable for the most economically exposed Caymanians. Something needs to be done for them. Import duties can be charged on luxuries, but basic necessities including medications and certain foodstuffs, should be duty free.
This would be so easy to do and could really help people without hurting government revenue much.
Yeah…. that’s forward thinking. They dont do that in cayman
Fact check: most basic foodstuffs and more are in fact, duty free!
Been that way for decades – sorry that your thinking is just catching up with Cayman.
SMH!
You take a look at the duty schedule. Lard is not really a basic foodstuff.
Fact check – vegetables 17%. Fruits 22%.
Fact check: import duty free, VAT free, sales tax free at any local produce market run by real farmers.
Most prices unchanged for past 8 years!
Leave your comfort zone my dear.
If you think they are expensive now, wait until government runs the store.
Instead of people trying to have a petition for a local Governor election they should petition to have living expenses reduced?
When was the last time the allowance of CI$350 goods being brought back from a trip has been reviewed and raised?
You know people can do two things at once so maybe stop trying to under estimate your fellow Caymanians.
But I agree with the 350, that needs changed. So how about 3 things at once: governor, food duty, duty allowance… okay 4: and cruise dock- no to it.
What time is it??? Its PPM Time! keep voting for this rinky dink bunch of political parasites see where you will end up Cayman ? give them another 4 years and it will be 33%
The fallacy of trickle down economics will forever be the tool of making the rich even richer and the poor even poorer. Politicians are so caught up in this idea that they do anything the wealthy business community say in hopes it will make them more profitable and pay workers more thus the whole economy benefits. The reality is they keep salaries the same and pocket the extra profit.
Another big contributor to inflation is the “Cayman Partner” requirement to start a business. The partner gets 50+ percent ownership with little or no capital contribution, doubling the investment return required the non Cayman partner. 100% owned Cayman businesses take advantage of this, not by capitalizing on their relative cost advantage, but by matching prices. I know no one want to hear this, but it is true.
Especially when expats come here, get Caymanian status by buying land and then use their status to form companies with themselves as the Caymanian partner and siphon money out of the country and employ as few Caymanians as possible and bring in more expats. I know no one wants this said, but it’s true.
Or hire no Caymanians. No one checks.
No – that is simply not true. Whilst Caymanians indeed are supposed to own 60% (a necessary and appropriate requirement to seek to ensure Caymanians retain some ownership of their economy) there is no suggestion anywhere in the law or any regulations that they not be required or expected to contribute capital etc. in all appropriate proportion.
Naive or in denial. Or turning a blind eye to the truth.
Fronting is illegal. Just because government makes up the law when it comes to a lack of enforcement does not mean the law can be misquoted by those who do not understand it in the first place.
Can’t wait to see how long CUC takes to post their new rates after this article.
I guess you don’t read regularly – CUC already announced its rate hike – prior to this news release!
We are all slipping due to these increases which are not justifiable most of them, greed and power, god save us all
God can’t help us, only the people who can vote can change this but they continue to take legal bribes for votes.
don’t think for a minute the do-nothing ppm will do anything….
The ppm’s policies are directly responsible for the increase. This is already unsustainable for Caymanians and is held together only by a loose array of ill targeted and often over-generous benefits handed to many through a system of grace and favour to keep them quiet. Once those benefits become unaffordable, what will the ppm say?
Yes and year after year employers justify not raising salaries by saying the increase is related to fluctuations in oil prices and therefore isn’t a “real” increase.
Civil servants are the worse!
The only civil servants who get paid a lot of money are those at the TOP. The majority of civil servants who are not in struggling middle and lower class who have not had any change in salary for over 10 years. Working in crap environments of:
– poor unqualified leadership (no matter what country the mangers are from);
– no HR support (HR is quite deplorable);
– disgruntled co-workers who are demoralized and broken;
– intolerable co-workers who are protected;
– no sight of growth for professional development or advancement;
– the environment is full of discrimination (especially if you are a Caymanian who does not live up to the stereotype of being lazy or illiterate – you’re consistently blocked or ignored from any progression or input of positive contribution out fear you highlight how incompetent the “world class” workers are. So succession planning is a joke.
I could go on and on about how truly horrible it is to work in government… but I guess the point I’m trying to make is – not all civil servants are stupid-useless-overpaid-unqualified-ignorant-overweight, lazy individuals. I’m also not saying that stereotype doesn’t exist either – but at the end of the day, many of them are just trying to make ends meet and earn a living while taking abuse from all sides.
Fact check 1: top level civil servant are UNDERPAID relative to their equivalent private sector peers and that is why there is so much junk employed in top civil service positions. Simple really, less people, less influence less votes – always been that way!
Fact check 2: lower and middle management civil servants are OVERPAID relative to their equivalent private sector peers thus the fight to get these jobs. Simple really, more people, more influence, more votes.
However, these lower and middle persons remain stuck in their positions because the top MANGEMENT are going nowhere because they need retirement to make it.
Civil Services are in two categories.
Ones that have commercial value e.g. electricians with public works and land surveyors etc. They are definitely not stuck and leave when the pay doesn’t rise.
Then they have the others which don’t have a commercial skill and they can indeed be stuck.
It is long past time to acknowledge one of the primary reasons for the ridiculous cost of living we all confront. Government fees and taxes which are required to be so high in large part due to overspending and waste.
The funds consumed by government are made even larger due to breaches of or a refusal to enforce our own laws.
How many non Caymanians are feeding at the trough, and being willingly fed by the politicians who gain grace and favor in the process? How may “spouses of Caymanians” are allowed to come and stay at government expense? How may foreign children of those same persons and civil servants are allowed to attend our schools and receive medical care for free? – all while deserving Caymanians are denied the resources they need in consequence?
Everyone should read the Maintenance Law as only one example of unenforced laws which if followed, could greatly reduce the financial burden on government.
Then there is of course the Immigration Law. Persons who will be a burden on our society are prohibited from settling here. Dog now eating our supper.
Along this vein: it is very common to hire young female foreign teachers who either arrive pregnant or proceed to have a few babies here within a few years of their arrival. I’m certainly not against young families but there seems to be a trend on the Brac in particular. Then the Brac doctors “aren’t good enough” and they are flown to Grand Cayman, enjoy their pregnancy leave at the expense of not only our government but primarily our students…
What? That sounds like it happened once.
8:45am
I LOVE this comment
This is funny! Don’t rely on the Government to educate your children
Government is the biggest cause of inflation in Cayman! Too many unreasonable fees for every little transaction. It’s called “over-regulation”! Do you know that if you wish to inspect and license a vehicle in West Bay you have to pay 2 inspection fees – one to the garage to conduct the inspection (justified) and the same fee again to the DMV (for what??). Governor Choudhury was about to correct these wrongs. reduce Civil Service red-tape and increase efficiency but people had him recalled.
Seems like Franz Manderson (as Head of the same corrupt and inefficient CS) and his type are the only ones who will benefit by the Governor’s recall!
3:53 – You’re surely on point. I’ve been wondering about the duplicate inspection fee for a while! We really need HE Choudhury back here asap.
it is probably much higher than that given the margin for error. Cayman is swiftly becoming unafordable for the middle class and the poor. The government has a mentality that Caymanians can afford to observe any increase in the cost of living while they get cars to drive and fat salaries. The progressives has such a stronghold on the country that people are even afraid to criticize them and speak out.
help!help! help! ???? cant survive here anymore???? paradise lost!????
And almost no wage growth during that same period once you account for inflation
You mean wage growth for locals!