Research suggests inflation far in excess of official figures
By Luke Whitmore, 6th July 2010
A recent study has revealed the gap between minimum wage
earnings and the amount required to live to a reasonable
standard.
The report, by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, found that a
single person requires a gross annual income of £14,100 to fund an
acceptable standard of living, with a couple with two children
requiring a minimum of £29,200.
The amounts rose from £13,400 and £26,900 respectively in the
past two years.
Research was not focused on the amount of income required to
merely survive, but on how much is needed to properly participate
in society - for example, the minimum standard of living includes
such things as a computer and internet connection for all working
age households, based on information from focus groups as to what
is considered essential nowadays.
The findings revealed that those on low incomes struggle with a
far higher inflation rate than the one used for establishing Budget
figures, and that prices for essentials have risen far faster than
wages - meaning that both those on low income and those out of work
and claiming benefits could be left in the cold.
It also showed the widening of the divide between minimum wage
and the amount needed to live life to a satisfactory degree.
"This new research underlines how people living close to the
minimum income standard can end up not having enough if economic
trends start going against them," commented Donald Hirsch, one of
the writers of the report.
"For example, a single person who a decade ago had just enough
to get by, and whose income has risen in line with official
inflation, cannot afford a minimum budget today. Big rises in the
prices of things like food and council tax means that they are
nearly £20 a week short of what they need, and must think of what
essentials they will go without."
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