The cost of living in the island has increased.
The annual rate of inflation, measured by the Retail Prices Index, jumped to 2.7 per cent in May.
RPI excluding housing costs rose to 2.8 per cent last month from 2.2 per cent in April.
Inflation measured by the Consumer Prices Index, which excludes mortgage interest payments and household expenditure such as buildings insurance, also rose. It was 1.6 per cent in May, up from 1 per cent in April.
RPI inflation in the UK was 2.5 per cent. The May figure has not yet been released.
{https://www.gov.im/categories/tax,-vat-and-your-money/inflation/|For more information about this issue directly from the Manx government’s Cabinet Office, click here.}
Digging a bit deeper into the statistics reveals that while many things have gone up by more than the general rate, some have actually fallen.
For example, food is 7.5 per cent more expensive than it was a year ago, while alcoholic drink is actually 4.5 per cent cheaper. Cheaper off licence sales are the reason for that.
Within the food category, cereals have soared 14.3 per cent, while potatoes and vegetables are now cheaper than a year earlier (down 8.9 per cent and 7.4 per cent respectively).
Another big area of spending for many - rent - has leapt by 9.4 per cent.
While sea travel has got more expensive (up 12.4 per cent), travelling by air has dropped (it’s 19.2 per cent cheaper), although that might reflect the fact that there are fewer destinations now being served from Ronaldsway.