Workers feel cost-of-living pinch

There’s a sharp divide between workers’ gloom and the rosy picture painted by official statistics.

A Council of Trade Unions’ cost of living and income survey indicates about 70 per cent of respondents feel their incomes are not keeping up with the cost of living. Official statistics show wages have risen faster than inflation.

‘‘A lot of people are feeling life is getting tougher,’’ said CTU president Richard Wagstaff. The depth of the gloom reported in the survey, which drew its respondents from the CTU’s database of members and donors, was surprising. ‘‘From our point of view, wages seem to be getting better,’’ Wagstaff said. The contrast to the official statistics could indicate it was time for a review of their adequacy.

He supported recent moves towards capturing ‘‘wellbeing’’ data to supplement the current official economic data.

According to the official statistics, people should have been feeling like they had a few extra dollars at the end of the pay cycle to save, or spend improving their lives. For while inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was up 1.9 per cent in the 12 months to the end of September 2018, wages were up 2.4 per cent. But the CPI is a broad measure of inflation and for many working households, some of what’s in the CPI basket isn’t important. For them, the cost of living comes down to food, fuel and housing, especially in cities with a housing crisis, and sprawling transport links, like Auckland and Wellington.

Transport costs rose 5.6 per cent in the 12 months to the end of September, CPI figures show, and housing and utility costs were up 3.1 per cent. The cost of food however, barely moved (0.1 per cent) compared with a year before.

It wasn’t only that many of the 1195 survey respondents were struggling to keep up with costs, the CTU found. Many also felt they were working harder, and had less job security.

Just over half (55 per cent) of people who responded to the survey said they were working harder than a year ago.

And many felt their incomes were less secure. ‘‘While Kiwis’ low incomes and their high cost of living are standout issues, people are also reporting concerning levels of workload increase, loss of work/life balance and low job satisfaction,’’ Wagstaff said.

‘‘Our work is one of the biggest parts of our lives, it’s an indictment on us as a nation that for too many people, it has become so unfulfilling. It’s hard to see how people or the economy can do well when working people’s mood is so low.’’

Wagstaff said many people felt they were not sharing in economic growth and the country’s success.