According to Statistics Jersey’s Changes in Retail Prices report, from June 2005 to June 2019 the retail price index – rate of inflation – in Jersey was 46% while the equivalent UK measure was 39%.
Over the period, therefore, inflation has been on average half a per cent higher in the Island than in the UK per year.
Food costs increased by 53% in Jersey while in the UK the figure was 44%. Other spending areas where inflation was higher in the Island included alcohol, which was 12% higher than the UK figure, and housing, which was 6% higher.
However, cost increases in the Island were lower than in the UK in several
areas, including for tobacco and fuel/lighting.
But the report also found that the average price of a pint of draught lager in Jersey this year was £4.56 compared to £3.70 in the UK.
However, smokers get off more lightly in the Island, with the average cost of a pack of 20 cigarettes being £9.41 here compared to £10.77 in the UK.
Assistant Treasury Minister Lindsay Ash said: ‘A lot of it is imported inflation because things like food and clothing come in from the UK.
‘If the price of fuel goes up then we have to add that into the cost of shipping it to the Island.’
He added that Jersey could tackle one of its biggest causes of inflation – housing – by building more homes.
‘If you have a demand for 4,000 homes and you don’t have those homes then it’s going to force up the rental prices and people will pay them because there’s nothing else on offer,’ he said.
‘There are two ways you can deal with that – either you restrict immigration, which is going to be difficult, or you build more homes.
‘The Housing Policy Board is publishing its report early next year, so it will be interesting to see what they have to say. For me the solution is building more and higher in St Helier, otherwise you are building on green fields.
‘They wouldn’t need to be uniform buildings that all look the same. If you look at the London skyline it is varied with buildings like the Shard and the Gherkin. I think we could do that pretty quickly.’
Inflation figures Jersey vs UK, 2005 to 2019
Jersey UK
Food: 53% 44%
Alcohol: 68% 46%
Tobacco: 116% 139%
Housing: 44% 35%
Fuel & Light: 93% 145%
Motoring: 46% 43%
