Table A. Year-on-Year Inflation Rates 
for the Bottom 30% Income Households, All Items 
In Percent 
(2018=100)

A. Philippines          

1. Overall Inflation

The country’s inflation rate for the bottom 30% income households slowed down to 3.6 percent in January 2024 from 5.0 percent in December 2023. In January 2023, inflation rate was posted at 9.7 percent. (Figure 1, and Tables A, B, 5, 6, and 12)

1.1 Main Drivers to the Downward Trend of the Overall Inflation

The downtrend in the overall inflation in January 2024 was primarily brought about by the lower year-on-year growth in the heavily weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages at 5.2 percent in January 2024 from 7.4 percent in the previous month. In addition, the transport index recorded a lower annual increase of 0.3 percent during the month from 1.5 percent in December 2023.

Lower annual rates were also noted in the indices of the following commodity groups during the month:

          a. Alcoholic beverages and tobacco, 9.4 percent from 9.7 percent;
          b. Clothing and footwear, 3.9 percent from 4.1 percent;
          c. Furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance, 4.0 percent from 4.6 percent;
          d. Health, 2.8 percent from 3.2 percent;
          e. Information and communication, 0.6 percent from 0.8 percent;
          f.  Recreation, sport and culture, 6.5 percent from 6.7 percent;
          g. Education services, 4.2 percent from 4.6 percent;
          h. Restaurants and accommodation services, 5.4 percent from 5.9_percent; and
          i.  Personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services, 4.2 percent from 4.8 percent.

Moreover, faster annual decline was observed in housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels index at 3.1 percent in January 2024 from 2.8 percent in the previous month. The financial services index also recorded an annual decrement of 0.1 percent during the month from zero percent inflation in December 2023. (Tables 5 and 6)

1.2 Main Contributor to the Overall Inflation

The following commodity groups were the top three contributors to the January 2024 overall inflation for the bottom 30% income households:

          a. Food and non-alcoholic beverages, 80.4 percent share or 2.9 percentage points;    
          b. Restaurants and accommodation services, 11.4 percent share or 0.4 percentage point; and
          c. Alcoholic beverages and tobacco, 7.0 percent share or 0.3 percentage point.

2. Food Inflation

Food inflation for the bottom 30% income households at the national level moved at a slower pace of 5.3 percent in January 2024 from 7.4 percent in the previous month. In January 2023, its annual increase was observed at 10.4 percent. (Table 9)

2.1 Main Drivers to the Downward Trend of the Food Inflation

The deceleration of food inflation was mainly due to the faster annual decline in the index of vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses at 18.5 percent during the month from 5.0 percent annual decline in December 2023. In addition, fish and other seafood index also  posted a year-on-year decline of 0.5 percent in January 2024 from 3.7 percent annual increase in the previous month. The meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals index also contributed to the lower food inflation with its slower annual increase of 0.4 percent from 1.4 percent in December 2023.

In addition, faster annual declines were observed in the indices of the following food groups during the month:

          a. Corn, 3.3 percent from 2.2 percent;       
          b. Oils and fats, 5.5 percent from 4.5 percent; and
          c. Sugar, confectionery and desserts, 3.0 percent from 1.8 percent.

Moreover, slower annual increases were recorded the indices of the following food groups during the month:

          a. Flour, bread and other bakery products, pasta products, and other cereals, 4.9 percent from 5.6 percent;
          b. Milk, other dairy products and eggs, 6.6 percent from 8.3 percent;
          c. Fruits and nuts, 8.2 percent from 9.5 percent; and
          d. Ready-made food and other food products, 4.5 percent from 4.6 percent.

In contrast, faster annual increment was noted in the index of rice at 24.8 percent during the month from 21.4 percent in the previous month. (Tables 7 and 11)

2.2 Main Contributors to the Food Inflation

Food inflation contributed 76.9 percent or 2.8 percentage points to the January 2024 overall inflation for this particular income group.

Among the food groups, the main contributors to the food inflation during the month were the following:

          a. Cereals and cereal products, which includes rice, corn, flour, bread and other bakery products, pasta products, and other cereals, with 110.2 percent share or 5.8 percentage points;
          b. Milk, other dairy products and eggs with 5.8 percent share or 0.3 percentage point; and
          c. Fruits and nuts with 3.7 percent share or 0.2 percentage point.
         
 

B. National Capital Region (NCR)

Inflation for the bottom 30% income households in NCR eased to 3.4 percent in January 2024 from 4.2 percent in December 2023. In January 2023, inflation in the area was observed at 9.7 percent. (Tables A, 5, 6, and 13)

The downtrend of the inflation in the area was mainly brought about by the lower annual increment in the food and non-alcoholic beverages index at 2.4 percent in January 2024 from 3.4 percent in the previous month. Also contributing to the downtrend of the overall inflation in the area were the slower annual increases observed in the housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels at 4.4 percent during the month from 5.8 percent in December 2023, and restaurants and accommodation services at 4.7 percent annual increase in January 2024 from 5.3 percent in the previous month.

In addition, lower annual increments were noted in the indices of health at 1.2 percent in January 2024 from 1.9 percent in the previous month, and personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services at 3.8 percent during the month from 4.0 percent in December 2023.

The financial services also contributed to the lower overall inflation after posting an annual decline of 0.1 percent from zero percent inflation in the previous month.

On the other hand, faster annual increments were observed in the indices of the following commodity groups during the month:

          a. Alcoholic beverages and tobacco, 6.9 percent from 6.5 percent;
          b. Clothing and footwear, 2.7 percent from 2.6 percent;
          c. Information and communication, 0.3 percent from 0.2 percent; and
          d. Recreation, sports and culture, 4.0 percent from 3.6 percent.

The indices of the rest of the commodity groups remained at their respective previous month’s annual rates. (Tables 5 and 6) 

C. Areas Outside NCR (AONCR)

Following the trend at the national level and NCR, inflation for the bottom 30% income households in AONCR also decelerated at 3.6 percent in January 2024 from 5.0 percent in December 2023. In January 2023, inflation for this income group was registered at 9.7 percent. (Tables A, 5, and 14)

The deceleration of inflation in the area was mainly influenced by the lower year-on-year increment in the heavily weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages at 5.3 percent in January 2024 from 7.5 percent in December 2023.

In addition, the annual rate of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels index decreased further by 3.5 percent in January 2024 from an annual drop of 3.3 percent in the previous month. Moreover, financial services recorded an annual decline of 0.1 percent from zero percent inflation in the previous month.

The indices of the rest of the commodity groups registered lower annual increases during the period. (Tables 5 and 6)

In January 2024, 14 regions outside NCR recorded lower inflation rates for the bottom 30% income households relative to their respective inflation rates in the previous month. The lowest inflation rate was recorded in Region II (Cagayan Valley) at 1.5 percent, while the highest inflation rate was observed in Region VIII (Eastern Visayas) at 5.6 percent. (Table 6)

Note: CPIs and inflation rates for the bottom 30% income households by region are posted at the PSA OpenSTAT portal at https://openstat.psa.gov.ph/PXWeb/pxweb/en/DB/DB__2M__PI__BIH__2018/?tablelist=true.

CLAIRE DENNIS S. MAPA, PhD       
Undersecretary          
National Statistician and Civil Registrar General          
 

See more at the Consumer Price Index for Bottom 30% Income Households main page.