The figures are revealed in Asda’s latest Income Tracker report (June 2022) which is independently compiled by Cebr.

The 32.3% drop is the largest contraction in spending power of any region across the UK, and the biggest drop in the history of the Income Tracker.

The latest NI figures reflect the overall UK trend, with household disposable incomes falling for the eighth consecutive month, by 18% in June, compared to the same period last year. Soaring living costs, up 11% year-on-year in June, meant that UK families were on average £43.95 a week or £188.34 per month worse off compared to June 2021.

As the UK’s worst performing region, it means the average family in NI has only £93.50 per week at its disposal once all taxes, essential items and bills have been paid – – £33.50 less than in Q1 2022.

The record falls in household spending power are being driven by income growth falling well short of spiralling inflation.

Northern Ireland is also disproportionately affected by having a high share of public sector workers, where wage growth has lagged in recent months, as well as a larger share of social security claimants, meaning the withdrawal of the Universal Credit uplift has had a significant impact.

When it comes to comparing spending power, the North East is the closest region to NI at £123 per week in Q2, contrasting sharply with Wales at £164 and Scotland at £205, while families living in London have £249.88 per week at their disposal – the first time discretionary income has fallen below £250 in London since the fourth quarter of 2018.

On a UK-wide level, the cost-of-living crisis hits particularly hard for low-income families with all of the bottom 20% of UK households having ‘negative disposable income’ – resulting in a shortfall of £60 per week in June between what they earned and what they needed to spend on essentials such as mortgage, rent, utility bills and transport costs. Increasingly, those in the bottom 40% of households are also seeing negative discretionary income.

Asda said it continues to deliver a range of measures to support customers and colleagues with the cost-of-living crisis, including the launch of a new ‘Essential Living Hub’, an online space where customers can access a broad range of hints, tips and hacks which go beyond the weekly food shop, covering how to save energy, budget better, buy and cook smarter, entertain the kids for free and even eat out without paying a penny.

For those visiting stores, Asda has also extended its £1 kids’ café meals, with no minimum adult spend, until the end of the year and ‘dropped and locked’ the price of over 100 family favourites until the end of the year. On average, prices will reduce by 12%.

Commenting on the latest report and the longer-term outlook for Northern Ireland, Sam Miley, Senior Economist at Cebr said: “The latest Income Tracker report shows stark results for Northern Ireland, with the average household in the country witnessing discretionary income of just £93.50 per week in Q2.

“The impact of the cost-of-living crisis is clear, with rising prices eating into incomes and reducing families’ ability to spend. Indeed, Q2 marked the first time in five years that Northern Irish households have had less than £100 per week to spend on non-essential items. The worst could be yet to come, as an even more severe inflationary spike, driven by food and transport prices, is forecasted for Q4. This would put further downward pressure on spending power.”

The full report can be viewed here: https://corporate.asda.com/media-library/document/asda-income-tracker-july-2022/_proxyDocument?id=00000182-34a3-d424-a1fa-7ee36f4b0000

The post Spending power of NI families falls below £100 for the first time since 2017 first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

The figures are revealed in Asda’s latest Income Tracker report (March 2022) which is independently compiled by Cebr. The 13.3% drop highlights how Northern Ireland has suffered the largest contraction in spending power of any region across the UK.

Although its decline is most dramatic, the NI figures reflect the overall UK trend where the annual contraction of 6.5% in March resulted in families having £16.19 less in weekly discretionary income compared to the same period last year. This is also the largest absolute fall in the history of Income Tracker.

As the UK’s worst performing region, it means the average family in NI has only £127 per week at its disposal once all taxes, essential items and bills have been paid.

The data reflects the labour market composition with NI having a larger share of public sector workers – a sector which has suffered from lagging wage growth in recent months.

The withdrawal of the Universal Credit uplift in October 2021 has been a further factor, given NI’s high level of claimants. This means household living standards here are under the most pressure as a result of the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.

When it comes to comparing spending power, the North East of England is the closest region to NI at £152 per week, contrasting sharply with Wales at £198 and Scotland at £236, while families living in London have £298 per week at their disposal – the only region to show no change since the previous quarter.

On a UK-wide level, the drop in discretionary spending power has been most dramatically felt by the lowest income families who had 74% less disposable income this March compared to a year ago.  This has been driven by commodity market pressures, rising inflation and spiralling utility costs, has left local families financially exposed.

The latest Income Tracker data comes as Asda announced a series of measures to support UK households, dropping sand locking the price of over 100 family staples until the end of 2022.

It has also made a multi-million-pound investment in its new ‘Just Essentials at Asda’, a value-focused range designed to ensure shoppers can keep the family fed, clean and watered on the tightest budget. To support its 120,000 shop floor colleagues Asda is increasing its rate of pay to £10.10 per hour from July 2022.

Commenting on the latest report and the longer-term outlook for Northern Ireland, Sam Miley, Senior Economist at Cebr said: “The latest Income Tracker report highlights the financial strain being placed on households amidst the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. Though spending power is down almost across the board, those in Northern Ireland have been particularly impacted, with inflation spiralling and wage growth overall falling behind. These trends are set to continue over the coming months, meaning households could find themselves in an even more precarious position.”

The post Dramatic drop as spending power of NI family falls by 13.3% in year: Asda Income Tracker first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.