Low income households ‘face higher rate of inflation’
Britain’s lowest income households faced the highest rate of inflation in February, at 4.2 per cent, latest figures show.
In sharp contrast, the highest income households faced an inflation rate of 3.3 per cent, the lowest of all income groups, according to the Alliance Trust Economic Research Centre.
A year ago it was the highest income households that faced the highest rate of inflation, but during 2011 there was a reversal of this trend, the study suggests.
This is mainly due to lower income households allocating a higher proportion of their budgets to utilities and food, where inflation increased, while higher income households were helped by sharp falls in prices of audio visual equipment.
Linsey Thomson, the centre’s senior economic analyst, said: “As headline inflation continues to slow over the course of this year, some pressure on household budgets will be alleviated, especially for the lower income households as the cut in gas and electricity prices comes through.
“However, with wage growth still very muted, it is likely that conditions will remain challenging for households.”
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- expenses ,
- food ,
- high income ,
- household budget ,
- inflation ,
- leisure ,
- low income
