Toledo (EFE).- Inflation in Castilla-La Mancha rose 6.9% in January compared to the same month of the previous year, but the rise in prices reached 16.2% year-on-year in the group of food and non-alcoholic beverages.
Thus, Castilla-La Mancha was, together with Melilla, the one that registered the highest inflation of the autonomous communities and one point above the national average, according to data published this Wednesday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
Compared to the previous month, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in Castilla-La Mancha fell three tenths, driven mainly by the January sales in clothing and footwear, a group whose price fell by 10.8%.
Also in the interannual rate there have been significant increases in prices for alcoholic beverages and tobacco (8.6%), clothing and footwear (4.9%), household items (8.2%), transportation (6.3%), communications (2.5%), leisure and culture (2.1%), education (2.3%) and hotels, cafes and restaurants whose prices have increased by 8.2%.
In January 2023, only house prices fell, 6.9% less than in the same month of 2022.
Prices fall in clothing, footwear, housing and culture compared to December
Compared to the previous month, in the first month of this year prices fell, in addition to clothing and footwear, in housing (-5.2%) and leisure and culture (-2.0%).
The CPI increased, for its part, in food and non-alcoholic beverages (0.2%), alcoholic beverages and tobacco (1.2%), transportation (4.4%), and communications (4.6%), mainly .
For its part, inflation in Spain rose 5.9% in the interannual rate in January, one tenth more than the data provided by the National Institute of Statistics on January 30 and two tenths more than in the previous month. due to the increase in fuel prices after the withdrawal of the subsidy.
Along with fuels, clothing and footwear is the group that has contributed the most to the rise in the CPI, while lower prices for electricity and, to a lesser extent, the moderation of 3 tenths of a point in the rise in food and non-alcoholic beverages, up to 15.4%, after the entry into force of the VAT reduction on some foods.
Castilla-La Mancha, the community with the highest inflation
The autonomous communities with the highest inflation rates in January were Castilla-La Mancha (6.9%), the same as the autonomous city of Melilla; Extremadura and the autonomous city of Ceuta (6.6%); Navarra 6.4% and Murcia, Andalusia and the Canary Islands, 6.3%.
The communities with the lowest inflation in January were Madrid and Catalonia (5.3%) and the Basque Country (5.6%).
Compared to the month of December, the annual rate of the CPI increased in January in all the autonomous communities except Aragon, where it fell by one tenth.
The largest increases occurred in the Canary Islands, with a rise of 0.5 points, and in Cantabria, La Rioja and Comunidad de Madrid, with increases of 0.4 points each.
CCOO asks to raise wages to combat inflation
The general secretary of the CCOO in Castilla-La Mancha, Paco de la Rosa, has affirmed that the CPI data for January shows that it is the region with the lowest purchasing power and has indicated that to combat inflation it is necessary to raise wages in the negotiation collective.
Of the IPC he has said that he is “concerned” that Castilla-La Mancha is the territory with the lowest purchasing power at the same time that the rise in business profit “remains constant”.
In his opinion, it is necessary to face the rise in prices in collective bargaining, with the rise in wages: “to combat the effects of the CPI, the most responsible collective bargaining possible is needed,” said the CCOO regional leader.
UGT believes that prices are “moderating”
For his part, the general secretary of the UGT in Castilla-La Mancha, Luis Manuel Monforte, has indicated that despite the fact that the CPI has continued to rise in January in the autonomous community, prices “are moderating.”
He has admitted that Castilla-La Mancha continues to be one of the most inflationary regions, but has added that “we are seeing that the rise is moderating” and that the measures that are being adopted, such as the increase in the minimum wage, make it possible for workers They can handle the climb better.
Monforte has also stressed that the way to “confront” inflation is to raise wages.
The employer demands the State aid for SMEs and workers
In addition, the president of the Castilian-La Mancha employers’ association Cecam, Ángel Nicolás, has stated about the rise in the CPI in January in Castilla-La Mancha that the focus should not be on SMEs, which are 99% of the region’s business community, but rather the State has entered more money due to inflation and can help SMEs and workers.
Nicolás has said that the business community has seen its production costs increase by 34% at the same time that it has reduced its sales, and has affirmed that SMEs are not the problem of inflation: “you cannot demand more from those who do not have” .
In his opinion, the problem of the rise in the CPI is not in small and medium-sized companies (which are 99% of the companies in the region) but rather that the State is the one that has the possibility of helping because it is more income due to inflation.
According to the data that it has provided, the State has entered 33,000 million euros more due to inflation, money “that it did not expect”, and therefore it can “alleviate” the situation that both SMEs and workers have.
