2024 Inflation rate slows but COL still crippling families
(CNS): In the second quarter of 2024, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 132.7, which is 1.7% more than the second quarter of 2023, with eight out of the twelve divisions recording higher price indices. And while the rate of inflation may be slowing, given the historic highs over the last few years and the suppressed salaries in Cayman, local families are still crippled by continued price increases. The rate also varies widely with school fees, certain foods, rents and other housing costs, including insurance, increasing by much more.
The latest Consumer Price Index Report from the Economics and Statistics Office shows a year-to-date rate of 1.7%, largely due to the volatile price of oil and fuel, which fell during the second quarter of this year. Given its impact on inflation and the volatility of fuel costs, this means the minor slowdown in the inflation rate could easily be reversed next quarter if the price of oil on the world stage spikes again.
During the second quarter between March and June, the rate of inflation increased slightly by 0.1%, but even a fraction of a percent is adding to Cayman’s unprecedented cost of living crisis, which is now impacting even the country’s more comfortable households.
According to this latest inflation report, the rising cost of education, largely due to increasing school fees for secondary education, increased by more than 9%. While the price of food rose by an average of around 1.8%, certain foods such as cooking oils and fats increased by 6.6%, meat and meat products increased by 4.7%, and bread increased by slightly more than the average overall rate of inflation.
One area that continues to see higher inflation is the cost of rents, which has a disproportionate impact on those in lower-paid jobs. A more than 8% increase in the cost of residential accommodation is not only hurting low-income families but is also making it harder for businesses to recruit low-paid workers, as they can’t afford to live here on the poor wages being paid in many sectors of the Cayman economy.
Labour Minister Dwayne Seymour recently confirmed that he is very unhappy with the recommendation by the Minimum Wage Advisory Committee to increase the minimum wage, even though the suggested new wage was extremely low. Seymour ordered another review of what is now one of the proportionately lowest minimum wage rates in the world.
This means that it could be years before people working for just $6 an hour see a salary increase unless they work in hospitality, where the basic wage will move to $7 per hour next July. Employers will no longer be able to use 25% of the tips, gratuities or service charges earned by their workers to top up their wages.
While inflation and GDP soar, the reality is that the gap between the haves and have-nots in Cayman is getting noticeably worse. The minister’s decision not to accept the committee’s recommendation to increase the basic wage to $8.75 will also suppress wages further up the pay scale.
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Remove tax/duty on all food. Criminal.
Why are we not taxing the expats??? So many millionaires and billionaires live here or own property for little to nothing. Our government is so scared to stand up for its people and they don’t want to update their wealthy friends. Just ridiculous!!
Tell us you have zero clue how our economy works without telling us.
Mankind has never needed money. It is a Babylonian magical construct.
We base a lot of our edumacayshun system around it.
What an insightful criticism. Thanks for giving us a better alternative…
Our government don’t care.
there needs to be another pension fund withdrawal from those under performing overcharging pension funds.
They need to invest peoples money more efficiently to receive better rate of return!
Super easy: QQQ & SPY index fund cost of USD10 each to buy in then fire all dickhead pension managers who do nothing but have a phony laugh, BS rhetoric and collect their MER fees. They are as useless as paying a travel agent to book your flight to Miami
Assuming you want no diversification and are happy with just equity risk as you approach retirement. This is not intended as a defense of the pension funds, which are generally terrible, but this comment is equally bad.
No diversification??? SPY is the S&P500 … 500 of the top companies in the USA with broad global exposure not diversified enough for you? QQQ is the Nasdaq top 100 companies is that not diversified enough for you? Listen to me you’re a moron and have no credibility to give anyone investment advice. QQQ up 154% over the past 5 years and SPY is up 92%. Go further out 1997 to the present S&P500 SPY up almost 1,200% and that’s not including the dividends.
These premier indexes also purify and rebalance resulting the shareholders owning the best. Great example is Nvidia.
“Comment equally bad” … you’re an absolute buffoon!
“While inflation and GDP soar, the reality is that the gap between the haves and have-nots in Cayman is getting noticeably worse. The minister’s decision not to accept the committee’s recommendation to increase the basic wage to $8.75 will also suppress wages further up the pay scale”.
The same Minister of Donkey and Full Moon Stories who can’t see light poles and big bright yellow excavators who is one of the decision makers of the massive 18% pay raise to his ilk and top tier civil servants, while nothing to the middle and lower tier?
If we continue to vote in clowns….expect a circus!
I dare say most of the increased in the cost of living is from real supplying to man factors and not the nominal monetary factor which is tied to the US dollar. It is very costly to live on an island anywhere in the world because of the cost of importing, limited real estate, Efficient small scale operations suffering high fixed costs, etc. As long as We cater to the very rich in the world without taxing them we will have a hollow out of the middle income class Indeed. Likewise local population of young people cannot thrive with Such a poor educational system.
I’m confused. I was under the apparently mistaken impression that the Labour Minister position was for the benefit of the PEOPLE and the work force. ??? ???
Please vote Minister Seymour out next year.
Won’t happen 9:09. His Jamaican and Caymanian underclass love him here in Bodden Town. Not that he actually does anything, he just looks like them, sounds like them, thinks like them, enjoys the same music as them and makes them feel good that people looking like them have finally made it in the world.
Vote woke get broke
There is NOTHING woke about any of these clowns
John “duh” John is very unhappy with the recommendation. That alone tells everything you need to know about this f*****d up place.
salarieshave gone nowhere! cayman a rich person dream…who wants to purchase foreclosures…many are doing it…
how about we lower duty on food and eliminate duty on medicine?
You are naive if you think retailers and local suppliers would then pass those savings onto consumers.
They would leave the prices the same and pocket the extra profit, laughing all the way to the bank.
You must be living in a different version of Cayman than I am. Let me give you a reminder, we had to pass a law in November of 2004 to stop grocers and suppliers from price gouging after Ivan, these companies and the ghouls running them are not looking out for us, they have one motivation, and you are only useful to them for one reason:
Profit
Mr. Wayne Panton also had to scold retailers about price gouging for Covid testing kits when they became available.