Inflation decreases in August, taking wages down

In the past month of August, the overall inflation rate in the country fell slightly to 8.26 percent, down from 8.32 percent in July. This information was revealed in a report published by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) on Monday (September 7).

The report said that compared to July, inflation decreased by 0.06 percentage points in August. Food inflation fell to 7.02 percent this month, compared to 7.16 percent in July.

In August of last year, the overall inflation rate was 8.29 percent. This means that compared to the same month last year, inflation has decreased somewhat in August this year. Food inflation in August last year was 7.60 percent.

Meanwhile, although food prices fell, inflation in non-food items and services increased. Non-food inflation in August rose to 9.32 percent. In July, this rate was 9.28 percent, and in August last year, it was 8.90 percent.

The BBS said that in August, rural overall inflation was 8.31 percent. In July, this rate was 8.36 percent. During this period, rural food inflation decreased to 7.01 percent, while non-food inflation increased to 9.59 percent.

In August, urban overall inflation was 8.20 percent, compared to 8.24 percent in July. Urban food inflation stood at 7.04 percent and non-food inflation at 8.97 percent.

The report further added that alongside the decrease in inflation, the rate of income or wage growth at the national level has also declined. In August, the point-to-point growth of the national wage rate index was 8.05 percent. In July, this rate was 8.22 percent.

On the other hand, the wage increase rate in August last year was 8.15 percent. This means that in August, the wage growth rate (8.05%) was 0.21 percentage points lower than the overall inflation rate (8.26%).

In August, the wage growth rate in the agricultural sector was 8.07 percent, in the industrial sector 7.97 percent, and in the services sector 8.25 percent.