Living standards· Prices & consumption· Inequality & poverty Cost of living pressures have not fallen as fast as inflation, as high – and highly variable – housing cost rises move centre stage 14 December 2023 The cost of living challenges facing British households have not disappeared with fast falling inflation, as high and highly variable housing cost rises offset the welcome return of pay rises, according to new research published today (Thursday) by the Resolution Foundation. The report Pressure on pay, prices and properties, which uses data from an October … Continued READ MORE
Living standards· Welfare Budget benefit boost extends Universal Credit support to families on up to £37,700, but poverty levels will rise by 120,000 6 November 2021 The impact of welcome changes to Universal Credit (UC) announced in the Budget last week will leave 1.3 million families better off than before the withdrawal of the £20 a week boost to UC last month and make 330,000 more families eligible for support, but 3.6 million families will remain worse off, according to new … Continued READ MORE
Covid-19· Living standards Chancellor rightly slashes employer contributions to make part-time working scheme fit for purpose 22 October 2020 The Chancellor has sharply, and rightly, changed course to tackle the central flaw in the Job Support Scheme (JSS), slashing the share of wages for hours not worked that employers must pay from 33 to 5 per cent, the Resolution Foundation said today (Friday). Today’s announcement will hugely increase the incentive for firms that are … Continued READ MORE
Covid-19· Living standards· Economy and public finances The Job Support Scheme will not support enough jobs – risking a major living standards squeeze 25 September 2020 The Chancellor yesterday set out a timely renewed package of economic support. But with big unemployment increases still on the cards, and design flaws in post-furloughing job support, Britain is on course for a major squeeze on living standards in the months ahead, the Resolution Foundation said today (Friday) in its overnight analysis of the … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Welcome income growth ahead of Brexit uncertainty – but child poverty rises for the first time since 2006 28 June 2016 Typical incomes have finally returned to pre-crisis levels, but the number of children living in poverty has risen for the first time in a decade, the Resolution Foundation said today (Tuesday) in response to the latest Households Below Average Income figures (HBAI). The Foundation notes that typical household incomes reached £473 a week in 2014-15 – … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Half of working Britain has seen no rise in living standards since early 2000s 28 June 2016 Squeeze on earnings and rising housing costs have hit family budgets, fuelling disillusionment at economic and political status quo Weak income growth and rising housing costs have effectively wiped out any gains for low and middle income working age households since the early 2000s, providing the backdrop to disillusionment with the political and economic status … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Pension tax reforms could boost middle earners’ pension pots by 20 per cent 10 March 2016 Substantial losses for high earners likely to be behind Chancellor’s pre-Budget postponement Radical pension reforms could significantly boost the pension savings of the majority of earners, but at the cost of substantial losses to high earners and major disruption to the industry. These costs are likely to have led to the Chancellor backing off … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Household incomes have finally surpassed previous peak 15 February 2016 by Matthew Whittaker and Adam Corlett and David Finch Pace of living standards recovery set to slow over this parliament, with many poorer households losing out altogether Typical household living standards have finally surpassed their previous peak levels but the pace of recovery is set to slow in the coming years, and many low-income households could lose out entirely, according to the Resolution Foundation’s … Continued READ MORE
Living standards 26 percentage point gap between best and worst parts of the UK for BAME employment 28 December 2015 Closing sub-regional employment gaps central to reaching full employment and would mean 150,000 more ethnic minority people in work The employment gap between the best and worst performing sub-regions of the UK for all working-aged people is just 11 percentage points, but this more than doubles to 26 percentage points for black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) … Continued READ MORE
Living standards· Intergenerational Centre Downturn has been felt very differently across generations 28 October 2015 Trend risks being reinforced over the parliament by welfare changes Commenting on new ONS figures published today (Wednesday) that ‘nowcast’ household incomes up to the year 2014/15, Adam Corlett, Economic Analyst at the Resolution Foundation said: “Today’s ONS figures highlight the depth of the recent living standards squeeze, and the welcome recovery in the last year, … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Typical incomes up £800 a year in north east since eve of downturn but still £900 lower in south east as regions recover at different rates 9 April 2015 Households in the North East and East of England have seen the biggest rise in living standards since the start of the downturn, while Northern Ireland, the West Midlands and the South East have the most ground to make up, according to an analysis of household incomes published today (Thursday) by the independent think-tank the … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Big regional and generational divide on living standards as typical incomes approach pre-downturn levels 12 March 2015 The great squeeze on living standards over the past seven years has been unevenly felt between generations and across different parts of the country, according to new analysis published today (Thursday) by the Resolution Foundation. The Resolution Foundation analysis finds that typical household incomes are rising and are finally set to return to their pre-downturn … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Household incomes to grow steadily next year but full recovery not expected until early 2016 27 December 2014 Household incomes are set to rise steadily next year but will not return to their pre-downturn level until early 2016, according to a new analysis published today (Saturday) by the independent think-tank the Resolution Foundation. The Resolution Foundation’s measure of household incomes, derived from the ONS national accounts, CPI inflation and OBR forecasts, show that … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Household incomes will start rising in 2015 – but painfully slow recovery means many years before losses are restored 11 February 2014 Household incomes are set to start rising again in 2015 after six years of decline according to a new report from the Resolution Foundation. The findings come in a detailed and authoritative assessment of the state of living standards in Britain. The report from the independent think tank also finds that growth in disposable income … Continued READ MORE
Living standards ‘Government doesn’t understand the financial pressures we face’ say large majority of families 13 March 2013 Almost 7 in 10 Britons think the government does not understand the financial strain they are under, suggests a poll conducted for the Resolution Foundation. Asked to respond to the statement that “The government understands the financial pressures on me and my family”, an overall 69 per cent of those surveyed disagree (with 48 per … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Squeezed Britain faces a decade of slow recovery in living standards 13 February 2013 It may be another decade before Britain’s low to middle income families can expect to see their living standards return to pre-recession levels a major report, Squeezed Britain 2013, by the Resolution Foundation warns today. The prolonged downturn means that this large swathe of the population is likely to face a permanent hit to their … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Gains from growth to bypass much of working Britain without bold action 31 October 2012 LANDMARK REPORT: GAINS FROM GROWTH TO BYPASS MUCH OF WORKING BRITAIN WITHOUT BOLD ACTION Millions of households are heading for a long period of stagnant living standards unless bold steps are taken to ensure that growth over the next decade is broadly shared, according to a landmark investigation into the squeeze on incomes. Even with … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Living standards set for decade of decline unless Britain charts a new course 23 September 2012 Living standards for Britain’s low and middle income households will be lower in 2020 than they were a decade earlier even if growth returns, a new economic analysis suggests. Households in this group are set for income falls of between 3 and 15 per cent from 2008 to 2020. The study, carried out for independent … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Stealth raid to cost families over £600 a year 11 September 2012 The government’s decision to change the way support for families keeps up with rising prices is going to cost the typical family with children £614 a year due to reductions in Child Benefit and Universal Credit payments, according to new research from independent think tank the Resolution Foundation. This stealth raid will hit those on … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Politicians just don’t get the financial pressures faced by ordinary families 30 August 2012 More than two people in five (43%), think most politicians don’t understand the financial pressures they face, according to new polling from independent think tank, the Resolution Foundation, with levels of dissatisfaction running highest among the middle aged (53% of 45 – 54 year olds). The poll, a quarterly tracker of household finances, carried out by … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Political battle for the squeezed middle escalates 23 January 2012 The squeezed middle remain the key political battleground, facing a new tax credits squeeze on top of a continued fall in real wages, a growing chance of a lifetime renting, increasingly precarious household finances and incomes unlikely to rise beyond their pre-recession (2007) levels even by 2020, according to a new report from independent think … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Rising prices of essential goods wipe out gains in living standards 27 December 2011 New analysis shows that the rising cost of essentials had already wiped out most of the gains in living standards made in the early 2000s by families on low and modest incomes, even before the recession began. The new report, for independent think-tank the Resolution Foundation, shows that increases in the price of food, fuel … Continued READ MORE
Living standards· Welfare Children in low to middle income families start school five months behind 13 December 2011 Children in low to middle income families are already behind their most affluent peers when they start school, because of their upbringing – according to a major new study for the independent think tank, the Resolution Foundation. The study of over 15,000 five year olds, carried out by child development experts Jane Waldfogel and Elizabeth … Continued READ MORE
Living standards US experts fly in as living standards in Britain ‘stand at a crossroads’ 21 November 2011 President Obama’s ‘middle-class tsar’ today flies into the UK for a major summit with British economists on the squeezed middle. Jared Bernstein, who ran the White House Taskforce on how to reverse the decline of the American middle-class, will speak at the meeting with British and American economists called by independent think tank the Resolution … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Households battening down the hatches risks prolonging economic woe 31 October 2011 A third of Britons are cutting back their spending, and more are anxious about their job security, according to new polling from independent think tank, Resolution Foundation. The poll is the second in a new quarterly tracker of household finances, carried out by respected polling firm Ipsos MORI. The poll reveals rising anxiety about job security … Continued READ MORE
