NI has lowest average income in UK
Northern Irish families have £860 less in their pockets each year, making them austerity’s hardest-hit region in the UK.
In contrast to much of GB, average household incomes are still below their pre-downturn levels in Northern Ireland, according to think-tank the Resolution Foundation, while among all 12 UK regions, it is NI households that experienced the biggest squeeze on living standards from the recession.
Typical household incomes in Northern Ireland were £21,794 on the eve of the economic downturn, but fell by a total of 13.4 per cent during the recession.
Incomes have recovered, but the average local household is still four per cent worse off than before the 2007 peak.
The Resolution Foundation said Northern Ireland’s income problems can be attributed to a combination of relatively poor performance in terms of job growth, and a UK average-busting decline in wages.
Northern Ireland is now behind Wales and North East England in terms of median household income.
Matthew Whittaker, chief economist at the Resolution Foundation, said: “The big variation in experiences between households means that voters will hear confusing messages on living standards that they may struggle to relate to.”
Meanwhile, although recent figures have shown the region’s unemployment level fell by 19.8 per cent in 2014, that was only half the UK average of 32.5 per cent.
Adding insult to injury, PricewaterhouseCoopers said its figures showed NI’s economic inactivity rate remained the highest of the 12 UK regions at 27.8 per cent, and in the past year was actually greater than the total decline in unemployment.
