The cost of living crisis continues to bite, with rate of inflation currently at a 40-year high. According to the Office for National Statistics, the consumer prices index (CPI) rose from 9% in April to 9.1% in May this year - a level unseen since February 1982, amid record prices for petrol and the soaring cost of food.
Meanwhile, average pay rises are failing to match the rise in the cost of living. A few workers in high-paid jobs have enjoyed higher bonuses and inflation-busting pay rises – it has recently been reported that CEO pay has recovered to pre-pandemic levels, for instance. But for the majority of workers, higher price inflation is now eroding the real value of what they earn.
In May, we spent a day speaking to a range of shoppers outside a Tesco Express store in Canton, Cardiff, about how their shopping habits had been affected by the cost of living. One mum-of-three we spoke to estimated her shop estimated her grocery shop had increased "at least £20 to £30 a week", and she said she had started to buy more value brands. You can read more about what the customers had to say about the rising prices here.
