States must lead to hold inflation
THE increase in the annual cost of living now topping out at a 30-year high will be no great surprise to anyone. Costs have been relentlessly rising across the board, from our shopping baskets, to our service industries, to raw materials.
Everyone is being hit, and as a result, many are feeling the pinch.
The Institute of Directors was quick to recognise the pressures that rising inflation brings upon businesses, particularly those who might struggle to increase their own prices while their costs are spiralling.
Combined with an almost impossibly-tight labour market, making it difficult to find staff, and a lack of affordable housing making bringing staff to the island equally difficult, the IoD called on the States to take a lead.
A new approach to population policy should be clear soon, with a debate expected in the next couple of months.
But one of the sharpest burdens islanders will face will be footing the bill for an anticipated increase in the public sector wage bill. It may not be quite at 7%, but is still set to be higher than many private sector pay agreements might be, seems to have no element of self-funding factored in, and will place public finances in an even more difficult position.
Nobody is surprised inflation has reached these heights in 2022. It will be crucial not to fuel it further, and to see it come down as soon as possible.