The Planning Bureau has forecasted that inflation will be 3.1 percent this year, slightly lower than the previous forecast in April which predicted an average annual inflation rate of 3.3 percent. Inflation stood at 4.06 percent last year and was 9.59 percent in 2022, with the forecast for next year being an average annual inflation rate of 1.9 percent.
In addition to inflation, the health index is also expected to be 3.1 percent this year and 2.0 percent in 2025. Last year, the health index was 4.33 percent, and in 2022 it was 9.25 percent. This key index for government wages and social benefits was exceeded in April, leading to adjustments of social benefits in May and government employees’ wages in June by 2 percent to account for increased cost of living expenses. The Planning Bureau anticipates the next exceedance of the central index to occur in February 2025 based on current projections
