Five years of a near-constant cost-of-living crisis have left households in Northern Ireland almost £3,000 worse off than they would have been, according to a think tank study.
Research by the Resolution Foundation found the UK had suffered the equivalent of 13 years of “normal” inflation in just five, thanks to the fallout from the pandemic and wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
And had inflation been at normal levels over this period, the think tank said, the average household would be £2,900 better off than they currently are.
James Smith, chief economist at the Resolution Foundation, said: “While the hit to incomes from rising prices has been felt right across the board, the hardship has not been equally shared.
“It is poorer families who have cut back hardest on heating and are falling behind fastest on essential bills, and the conflict in the Middle East is set to keep energy prices high.”
With the crisis driven primarily by rising energy costs, the think tank found families had responded by heating their homes less, with 1.7 million more households saying they were unable to keep warm enough in 2022/23 compared to the previous year.
Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey will present his first Budget on October 28 (Yui Mok/PA)
The proportion of poorer households failing to keep up with priority bills has almost doubled since 2020, with 18% saying they were in arrears in March this year.
The Resolution Foundation study comes as Chancellor John Healey prepares his first Budget on October 28, in which he will face pressure to provide additional support with the cost of living following Andy Burnham’s pledge to provide “breathing space” for families.
But he also faces a squeeze on the public finances, with the Iran war and a global bond sell-off driving up borrowing costs.