Over a third (34%) of households will be unable to afford the cost of living by £8,600 this spring, think tank says.
The new analysis by the New Economics Foundation (NEF) found that around 23.4 million people will struggle to afford the cost of living by April 2022.
This figure includes nearly half (48%) of all children, almost all (96%) of children living in families out of work, eight in 10 (77%) in single-parent households, and four in 10 (43%) in working families.
The research uses the Minimum Income Standard (MIS), which is the UK’s leading approach to measuring living standards based on need and is used to calculate the ‘real’ Living Wage.
The think tank also looked at how the cost of living crisis impacted different regions.
It found that 43% of families in the north-east, 41% in Yorkshire and the Humber, 39% in the West Midlands, and 38% in London would be unable to afford the cost of living.
‘The cost of living is increasing faster than at any point in recent history. While all families are set to feel a squeeze come April, the lowest income households will be hit proportionately harder,’ said Sam Tims, economist at the New Economics Foundation.
‘But the cost of living is only a crisis when people cannot afford it and Government support must be able to flexibly respond to this. There is little time left for the Chancellor to take action to avert the worst real-terms incomes squeeze in 50 years.’
