Pangasinan

Inflation rate in the Philippines escalated to 8.0 percent in November 2022 from 7.7 percent in October. This leads to the country’s average inflation rate of 5.6 percent. Inflation rate of the country in November 2021 was posted at 3.7 percent (see Table A).

Similarly, Ilocos Region recorded an upsurge in the inflation rate at 7.7 percent in November 2022, which was higher than that in October at 7.4 percent. This leads to the region’s average inflation rate of 5.7 percent. Inflation rate of the region in November 2021 was posted at 3.8 percent (see Table A).

Headline inflation rate in Pangasinan rocketed to 7.9 percent in November 2022 from 7.5 percent in October (see Figure 1). This is the highest recorded inflation since January 2019. This leads to the province’s average inflation rate of 5.5 percent. Inflation rate in the province in November 2021 was posted at 3.7 percent (see Table B).

The province’s inflation rate in November 2022 was mainly brought about by higher year-on-year growth rate in the index of Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages at 7.5 percent from 7.2 percent in October (see Table C). Also contributing to the towering inflation rate of the province during the month were the increased inflation rates in the following commodities:

a.    Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas, and Other Fuels, 13.8;

b.    Health, 8.4;

c.    Personal Care, Miscellaneous Goods and Services, 7.6 percent;

d.    Furnishings, Household Equipment, and Routine Household Maintenance, 7.1 percent;

e.    Clothing and Footwear; 5.3 percent;

f.      Recreation, Sports, and Culture, 3.6 percent; and

g.    Restaurants and Accommodation Services, 3.3 percent.

On the other hand, slower year-on-year increase were observed in the indices of the following commodities:

a.    Transport, 8.1 percent; and

b.    Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, 6.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the rest of the commodities (i.e., Educational Services, Information and Communication, and Financial Services) retained their previous month’s inflation rates.

Specifically, inflation rate of Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages in November 2022 was reported at 7.5 percent, which was higher from 7.2 percent in October. Inflation rate of this commodity group was lower at 3.0 percent in November 2021 (see Table D).

The increased inflation for oils and fats at 27.7 percent predominantly influenced the higher food inflation in November 2022. Meanwhile, fast annual growth rates were also observed in the following food groups:

a.    Sugar, Confectionery, and Desserts, 44.1 percent;

b.    Vegetables, Tubers, etc., 19.0 percent;

c.    Flour, Bread, Pasta, etc., 10.2 percent;

d.    Milk, Other Dairy Products, Eggs, 6.7 percent;

e.    Ready-made food and other food products, 6.5 percent;

f.      Fish and Other Seafood, 6.1 percent; and

g.    Fruits and Nuts, -3.8 percent.

Finally, food groups of meat of slaughtered land animals and corn exhibited decreasing inflation rates at 3.7 and -19.5 percent, respectively.

Note: CPIs and inflation rates by province are posted at the PSA website (https://openstat.psa.gov.ph/).

SGD. FERDINAND Q. JOCUTAN
Supervising Statistical Specialist

For and in the absence of:

EDGAR M. NORBERTE
Chief Statistical Specialist, PSA Pangasinan