Torgny Hasås
Prices are still rising, but not as fast as before.
New figures for price growth in April show that prices rose by 3.6 per cent compared to the previous year.
As long as prices increase less than wages, there will be real wage growth for most people.
The financial framework for the salary settlement is 5.2 per cent. If prices and wages remain at this level, there is likely to be significant growth in real wages for 2024.
In that case, it will be the first time in ten years. Since 2014, real wages have hardly increased.
Price growth (CPI) April 2023 to April 2024
Lower than TBU
A price increase of 3.6 per cent is significantly lower than what the parties assumed during the wage negotiations.
The Technical Calculation Committee for Wage Settlements (TBU) has estimated that the price increase for 2024 will be 4.1 per cent.
Now it is not possible to compare the growth for the whole year with the price increase from April 2023 to April 2024, but the falling price increase is good news for wage earners anyway.
Higher food prices
But it is still food prices that drive price inflation up. The price of food has increased by 6.8 per cent in the past year. For those who spend a large part of their income on food, this will hit the hardest. It is usually those with a low income who spend most of their salary on food.
There has been an unusually high increase in food prices in the last month. Section manager Espen Kristiansen at Statistics Norway explains that there were many offers in connection with Easter, but that prices have now returned to their usual level.
Lower electricity prices
Electricity prices have been the driver of the violent price increase over the past two years. Now it seems that the prices of electricity are at a lower level. A year ago, from March to April 2023, electricity prices rose by 5.1 per cent.
Electricity prices fell in the last month by 0.7 per cent.
