Price of essentials risen faster

THE cost of some essential items has risen faster than the official rate of inflation, figures show.

Wages have failed to keep up with inflation, which means workers struggled to maintain their standard of living.

But an analysis of the official figures shows that they hide even bigger increases in the cost of some essential items – and some luxuries.

From 2010 to 2016 the average rate of inflation has been 2.57%.

But the cost of fruit rose by 3.30% a year on average over this period.

Chocolate and confectionary rose by 3.01% a year, while the cost of alcoholic drinks and tobacco rose by 4.91% a year.

Electricity rose by 3.27% a year, gas rose by 2.56%– and rail transport soared by 4.23%.

Attention usually focuses on the overall rate of inflation, sometimes known as the “headline” rate. But the Office of National Statistics, the official body which measures inflation, also publishes a breakdown of the changes in price in specific categories of product.

The figures also show that some things didn’t increase in price very much. The inflation rate for clothing and footwear was just 0.57% a year on average.

And the cost of milk, cheese and eggs actually fell by 0.37% per year.

The cost of vehicles including cars and motorcycles, new and second hand, fell by 1.5% a year on average.

And the cost of toys, games and hobbies fell by 1% a year on average.

Wages in the North East rose by just 1.1% a year on average between 2010 and 2016.

Gateshead Labour MP Ian Mearns said: “The averaged out cost of inflation based on a basket of commodities that the statisticians use doesn’t necessarily represent the inflation for the basket