Sir Oliver Heald, MP for North-East Hertfordshire, has welcomed the news that average wages are now rising faster than inflation for the first time since the crash, according to the Office for National Statistics. Wages rose by 1.3% in the year to September, a higher rate than CPI inflation, which was at 1.2%. This means that the cost of living is now dropping, easing pressure on hard-working families.

The ONS also said that unemployment in the July-to-September period was down by 115,000 on the previous quarter, cutting the total to below 2 million. The number of people claiming Job Seekers’ Allowance fell by 20,400 last month – the twenty-fourth consecutive monthly drop.

Commenting, Sir Oliver said, “This is very good news. Wages are increasing above inflation and hardworking families in North-East Hertfordshire are going to find less pressure on their finances. Ed Balls used to say that the Government’s long-term economic plan wasn’t working; then he said that it was working, but the cost of living was rising; but now he can’t even say that. Conservatives in Government have achieved the largest annual fall in unemployment ever recorded, growth across the economy, inflation falling to below the Bank of England’s target for the first time in years, and now, the cost of living falling too. The long-term economic plan is working.”

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