Around a quarter (28%) of White adults reported finding it difficult to afford their rent or mortgage payments. While renters were no more likely than mortgage payers to report an increase in their cost of living, they were twice as likely as those paying a mortgage to report their housing costs as a reason for this (33% of renters compared with 16% of mortgage payers). How is inflation affecting your household costs? In the latest pooled period, 3% of adults reported being behind on their rent or mortgage payments, and 5% reported being behind on their energy bills (2% and 4% in the previous pooled period, respectively). Download the data for people who have cut back on fuel by region (XLSX,19KB). There was no statistically significant difference between those aged 16 to 24 years when compared with those aged 75 years and over. We would like to use cookies to collect information about how you use ons.gov.uk. The impact of the economic downturn and policy changes on health inequalities in London; IHE Response to Alcohol Strategy; Marmot Indicators 2015 Press Release; Marmot Indicators 2017 Briefing; . Disabled people were more likely to have reduced the amount of non-essential journeys they took than non-disabled people (46% compared with 40%). Pooling four waves of data together increases sample sizes, allowing us to carry out detailed analysis for different groups of the population. Question: Which of the following are you doing because your cost of living has increased?. Download the data for actions taken by people whose cost of living increased (XLSX, 19KB). Approximate numbers of adults are calculated by applying the percentage for each category indicated to the weighted number of people in Great Britain represented by those answering this question on the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey. What actions are people taking because of the rising cost of living? The rising cost of living and its effects on Londoners The five-category ethnicity breakdown includes: White: White British, White Irish, Other White, Mixed and Multiple ethnic groups: White and Black Caribbean, White and Black African, White and Asian or Any other Mixed and Multiple ethnic background, Asian or Asian British: Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Chinese or any other Asian background, Black or Black British: African, Caribbean or Any other Black, African or Caribbean background, Other ethnic background group: Arab or Any other ethnic group. The rising cost of living and its impact on individuals in Great Britain. Hide. The government understands that many people are worried about the impact of rising prices, with many of the most vulnerable households struggling to make their incomes stretch to cover the basics . This proportion appeared to be highest among Black or Black British adults (69%) and Asian or Asian British adults (59%). The cost of living, current and upcoming work: March 2022 Article | Released 2 March 2022 A summary of ONS's current and future analytical work related to the cost of living. Youve accepted all cookies. All content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0, except where otherwise stated, /peoplepopulationandcommunity/personalandhouseholdfinances/expenditure/articles/therisingcostoflivinganditsimpactonindividualsingreatbritain/november2021tomarch2022, Figure 1: Around 9 in 10 adults reported their cost of living increased in March 2022, Figure 3: Around 1 in 10 (13%) adults living in most deprived areas reported that they were behind on payments for gas or electricity bills, Figure 5: Renters are more likely than mortgagors to report difficulty in paying housing costs, Figure 7: Around 2 in 10 (23%) adults living in the most deprived areas reported that they had borrowed more money compared with a year ago, Figure 8: The number of adults reporting that they would not be able to save money has increased since the beginning of 2022, Nick Chapman, Marilyn Appiah, Ozer Beha, Chris Hendry, Impact of increased costs of living on financial resilience, Impact of increased cost of living on adults across Great Britain: November 2021 to March 2022, Coronavirus and the social impacts on Great Britain, housing, fuel and power is the least income-elastic category of spending, renters are more concentrated in the lower income quintiles than mortgagors. Estimates of being behind on rent or mortgage payments are not shown for the category "Wales" due to small sample size. The percentage of people who cut back on non-essential journeys in their vehicle reduced as income increased, although the difference was only statistically significant between those with an income of 50,000 per year or more and those with an income of less than 40,000 per year. Three-quarters of over-65s worried about cost of living rise | Press Main points Around 9 in 10 (87%) adults reported an increase in their cost of living over the previous month in March 2022 (16 to 27 March 2022), an increase of 25 percentage points compared. Contact: Ben Harris, Geeta Kerai, Tim Vizard. A full breakdown of sample sizes and population estimates for each of the characteristics included in the fully adjusted regression model are available in the accompanying dataset on the impact of increased cost of living on adults across Great Britain. Download the data for people who cut down on energy use in their home by age (XLSX, 19KB). The indicated questions and bases also apply to Figures 3, 5, 7, 10, 12 and 14. This proportion appeared highest among Black or Black British (9%), Mixed or Multiple ethnic group (9%) and Asian or Asian British (8%) adults (Figure 6). Around 1 in 50 (2%) White adults reported being behind on their rent or mortgage payments. Weights were adjusted for non-response. Charities and campaign groups have said the impact of increased costs has been worse for households already on lower incomes. The economic impact of a global health pandemic and the war in Ukraine means the policies to reduce the impacts of these rise in costs of living may take time to have any. The estimates of being behind on mortgage or rent payments for the category "Paying a mortgage" is not shown for March to June 2022 because of being less than 1%. Despite reported increases in the cost of living, this measure has remained relatively stable since November 2021 (3 to 14 November 2021). Millions of people will now feel the impact of an unprecedented 700-a-year rise in energy costs - at the same time as a host of bill hikes take effect. Disabled people were more likely than non-disabled people to have reduced their spending on food and essentials because of their increased costs of living (42%, compared with 31%). Overall government support for the cost of living: factsheet In the latest pooled period, almost half of adults (45%) who paid energy bills reported it being difficult (very or somewhat) to afford them (40% in the previous pooled period). For the regression analysis, characteristics were found to be significant based on the p-value associated (Wald Chi-Squared Test) with each characteristic. Meanwhile, those in the least deprived fifth of areas were less likely (27%). The accompanying dataset contains estimates for all other breakdowns analysed but not discussed in this article. Cost of living crisis: everything you need to know We believe that the Government's response to the National Food Strategy represents a missed. Among those who had seen cost of living increases, those living in the most deprived fifth of areas in England were more likely to have cut back on food and essentials (42%) than average (35%). Weekly household spending fell by more than 100 on average during the coronavirus pandemic Article | Released 13 September 2021 Restrictions on buying certain goods and services alongside drops in income during the pandemic led to a reduction in average household spending. Analysis of how different groups in the population have been affected by an increase in their cost of living, using data from the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey. We use this information to make the website work as well as possible and improve our services. Survey weights were applied to make estimates representative of the population. Global inflation - the rate at which prices rise - is at its highest since 2008. Inflation and the cost of living for UK households, overview - Office The rising cost of living and its impact on individuals in Great Britain: November 2021 to March 2022 Dataset | Released on 25 April 2022 Analysis of how different groups of the population have been affected by an increase in their cost of living. The trend in adults reporting that they could not afford to pay an unexpected, but necessary, expense of 850 has remained relatively stable from 3 to 14 November 2021 (27%) to 16 to 27 March 2022 (29%). Among all adults, 17% reported borrowing more money or using more credit than they did a year ago, in March 2022 (16 to 27 March 2022). The 54% rise in the energy price cap means . High inflation affects the affordability of goods and services for households. The cost of living increased sharply across the UK during 2021 and 2022. For age, sex and region, population totals based on projections of mid-year population estimates for June 2021 were used. Cost of living latest insights - Office for National Statistics The analysis throughout this article is based on adults aged 16 years and over in Great Britain. According to the 2011 census, 87% of households that owned their home (whether outright or with a mortgage) had 1 or more cars or vans in their household, compared with 60% of households in rented homes, and 44% of households in social housing. Base: Adults who said they have gas or electricity supplied to their home or adults who are currently paying rent or mortgage. Around half of those with a personal income of less than 20,000 per year said they found it difficult to afford their energy bills. The impact of the cost-of-living on children and young people As the cost-of-living crisis gets worse and more frightening by the day, more children are at risk of being pulled into poverty, or into deeper poverty. One-third (33%) of adults on an income of 10,000 or less per year reported that their household could not afford an unexpected expense compared with 23% who earn between 30,000 and 40,000 per year and 7% who earn 50,000 or more per year. This is the official measure of relative deprivation for small areas in England. Tracking the price of the lowest-cost grocery items, UK, experimental analysis: April 2021 to September 2022 Statistical bulletin | Released on 25 October 2022 How the prices of the lowest-cost products for 30 everyday items have changed since April 2021. A dependent child is any child under the age of 16 years or aged 16 to 18 years and in full-time education. More information on which groups were more likely to report a cost of living increase can be found in our accompanying dataset on the impact of increased cost of living on adults across Great Britain. Deprivation measure based on the English Index of Multiple Deprivation, see glossary. According to the latest experimental data from our Index of Private Housing Rental Prices, UK bulletin, private rental prices paid by tenants in the UK rose by 3.6% in the 12 months to September 2022, up from 3.4% in the 12 months to August 2022. Housing costs have also been a growing contributor to reported increases in the cost of living. "No qualifications" refers to adults who have no formal qualifications. This proportion appeared highest among Black or Black British adults (21%). Around 4 in 10 (39%) disabled adults said their household could not afford an unexpected expense compared with around 1 in 4 (24%) non-disabled adults. Around 1 in 20 (5%) renters reported being behind on their rent payments compared with 1 in 100 (1%) of those with a mortgage (Figure 7 and Figure 8). Cost of living - latest updates: Huge drop in UK house - Sky News During the same period, among those who pay energy bills more than half of adults (57%) living in the most deprived areas of England reported difficulty in affording their energy bills compared with around a third of adults (35%) in the least deprived areas of England. An odds ratio indicates the likelihood of reporting that their household could not afford an unexpected, but necessary, expense of 850 given a particular characteristic. We would like to use cookies to collect information about how you use ons.gov.uk. The five-category ethnicity breakdown includes: White: White British, White Irish, Other White, Mixed and Multiple ethnic groups: White and Black Caribbean, White and Black African, White and Asian or Any other Mixed and Multiple ethnic background, Asian or Asian British: Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Chinese or any other Asian background, Black or Black British: African, Caribbean or Any other Black, African or Caribbean background, Other ethnic background group: Arab or Any other ethnic group. A potential explanation of this is the use of savings to cover usual bills. Around 1 in 3 of those who reported an increase in their cost of living also reported spending less on food shopping, or shopping around more. The number of adults reporting an increase in their cost of living has increased over time. After controlling for other characteristics, the odds of reporting that their household could not afford an unexpected expense were over six times as high for adults who rented (odds ratio equals 6.88) compared with adults who owned their property outright. Meanwhile, around 4 in 10 (39%) of those with an income between 10,000 and 15,000, 15,000 and 20,000, or 20,000 to 30,000 per year were cutting back on food and essentials. By identifying groups that are unable to afford an unexpected expense, we can identify those groups who may be most impacted by a rise in the cost of living. Similar differences were seen by personal income. Energy price: Bill shock for millions as rises hit - BBC News Impact of increased cost of living on adults across Great Britain: November 2021 to March 2022 Article | Released 30 March 2022 Analysis of the proportion of the population affected by an increase in their cost of living and the individual characteristics associated with not being able to afford an unexpected expense, using data from the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (OPN). The estimates shown in this section are based on the period 22 June to 11 September 2022 ("latest pooled period"), providing us with a larger pool of data to examine the experiences of different groups of the population. Clothing is the most common cost cutting target, followed by eating out. The latest analysis in this report is based on 13,030 adults (reduced to 11,540 for the regression analysis) from a pooled dataset comprising four waves of data collection, covering the following periods: 6 to 16 January 2022, 19 to 30 January 2022, 3 to 13 February 2022 and 16 to 27 February 2022. The cost of living, current and upcoming work: March 2022 Article | Released 2 March 2022 A summary of ONS' current and future analytical work related to the cost of living. For example, the age profile of London is younger than the rest of Great Britain, withthe average age of Londoners almost five years below the UK average in 2020. Coronavirus and the social impacts on Great Britain: 18 March 2022 Bulletin | Released fortnightly Indicators from the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (covering 3 to 13 March 2022) of the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on people, households and communities in Great Britain. Energy efficiency of housing in England and Wales: 2022 Statistical bulletin | Released on 25 October 2022 Insight on the energy efficiency, environmental impact, carbon dioxide emissions and central heating main fuel type for new and existing homes by property type, tenure and property age. Cost of living | Local Government Association Deprivation measure based on the English Index of Multiple Deprivation, see Glossary. The questions asked on how easy or difficult it was to afford recent energy bills and housing costs cover the latest period. Disabled people were also more likely to be reducing their gas and electric use, with 55% of disabled people who were experiencing an increase in their cost of living reporting this change, compared with 50% of non-disabled people. Around 1 in 3 adults with no qualifications (35%) and educated below degree level (33%) reported that their household could not afford an unexpected expense compared with 19% of adults educated to degree level or equivalent. These measures can be used to understand financial resilience and the extent to which different groups can absorb increases in their cost of living. This article uses data from the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (OPN) to look at trends in the perceived cost of living and uses affordability of an unexpected expense as a measure of financial vulnerability to identify groups that may be most at risk because of individual circumstances. In the most recent period 16 to 27 March 2022, this was at its highest, at 83%. This may reflect differences in access to credit or in the need to use it. What can you do now? Hide. More than two-thirds of people around the world are feeling the squeeze, according to new research. For those who had seen their cost of living go up, the most common lifestyle changes they had made as a result were: More than a third of those whose cost of living had gone up cut back spending on food and essentials (35%, around 16 million people). Covering people's worries about the rising costs of living and the impact on people's well-being, using data from the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey collected between 27 April and 8 May. We have grouped areas into five groups (quintiles), ranging from most deprived to least deprived areas. "I'm sure I'm not the only one that feels as if skipping a meal on a regular basis is a normal thing," she said. An adult is defined as a parent if they are living with a dependent child who is their son, daughter, stepson or stepdaughter. The annual rate of inflation reached 11.1% in October 2022, a 41-year high, before easing in subsequent months. The difference in the responses of renters and mortgagors likely reflects some mortgagors being on fixed rate mortgages, whereas renters may be more exposed to increases in rent. This may be because those in rented housing were more likely to be seeing costs increase in other areas. Australia may not be hearing the full story about the impact of rising interest rates on small businesses, as a "perfect storm" of pressures contributes to a gloomy outlook. For a regression analysis considering which adults have been most likely to be impacted by increased cost of living after controlling for a range of personal characteristics, please see our Impact of increased cost of living on adults across Great Britain: November 2021 to March 2022 article. The Rising Cost of Living: A Review of Interventions to Reduce Impacts Cost of living crisis: global impact and solutions | World Economic Forum Affordability concerns may explain some of the falls in food store sales volumes in recent months. Among adults living in England, almost half (49%) living in the most deprived areas (based on the English Index of Multiple Deprivation) reported that they could not afford an unexpected expense compared with around 1 in 6 (16%) adults living in the least deprived areas. In early 2022 (6 January to 27 February 2022), 29% of adults reported that their household could not afford an unexpected, but necessary, expense of 850. Where comparisons between groups are presented, 95% confidence intervals should be used to assess the statistical significance of the change. Data from the English Housing Survey show historically mortgage arrears have remained low, being at or below 2% since 2011 to 2012. The selection of independent variables included in the fully adjusted regression models was based on: Missing values were excluded from the regression analysis where a response was not provided for a question or variable included in the model. The 27-year-old single mother said the cost of living crisis had had a big impact. Around 1 in 25 (4%) disabled adults reported being behind on their rent or mortgage payments compared with 1 in 50 (2%) non-disabled people (Figure 3 and Figure 4). COVID-19 Inflation is pushing up the prices of essential goods such as food, transport and utilities. Around 8 in 10 (83%) adults reported an increase in their cost of living in March 2022 (3 to 13 March 2022) compared with around 6 in 10 (62%) adults in November 2021 (3 to 14 November 2021). More quality and methodology information on the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (OPN) and its strengths, limitations, appropriate uses, and how the data were created is available in theOpinions and Lifestyle Survey Quality and Methodology Information. Impact of increased cost of living on adults across Great Britain Dataset | Released 25 October 2022 People in Great Britain's experiences of and actions following increases in their costs of living, and how these differed by a range of personal characteristics. Article | Released on 25 April 2022 Analysis of how different groups in the population have been affected by an increase in their cost of living, using data from the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey. Cost of living: Impact of rising costs on disabled people As a result, 11,540 adults were included in the regression model analysis. The GSS harmonised questions are asked of the respondent in the survey, meaning that disability status is self-reported. "Other qualifications" represents all other qualifications not listed, excluding degree level and equivalent. The rising cost of living and its impact on individuals in Great Data are available rounded to the nearest whole number in the chart download files and the associated dataset. Of those currently paying rent, 6% reported being behind on rent payments in March 2022 (16 to 27 March 2022). After controlling for other characteristics, parents of dependent children had over two times higher odds of reporting that their household could not afford an unexpected expense than parents without dependent children. The rising cost of living has been associated with a reduction in wellbeing, including increased anxiety and worsening mental health. Wages rose, but when taking rising prices into account, regular. We look at the major culprits Sat 24 Jun 2023 08.55 EDT Last modified on Sun 25 Jun 2023 11.58 EDT Since December 2021 (15 December 2021 to 3 January 2022), among adults who reported their cost of living had increased, respondents were also asked about their actions in response to increased cost of living. A higher proportion of adults living in the North East (37%) and the North West (33%) reported their household could not afford an unexpected expense compared with adults living in London (24%), the South East (25%) and the South West (26%). Hide. People living in rented housing were less likely to report this change than average, at 35%. The logistic regression analysis makes use of OPN data pooled over four waves, between the period 6 January 2022 and 27 February 2022 to allow for detailed analysis between groups. The impact of the rising cost of living on people experiencing poverty, discrimination and disadvantage July 2022 6 Min Read In this blog, our Head of External Affairs Jennifer Harrison talks about the rising cost of living and what it means for the people we support. This is despite disabled people tending to report making fewer non-essential trips in general prior to recent rises in the cost of living. Income is one of the measures used to determine deprivation, and data from the Living Costs and Food Survey (LCF) show housing, fuel and power is the least income-elastic category of spending. In recognition of the impact of the rising cost of living on disabled people and their households, the government announced a 150 'disability cost of living payment' on 26 May 2022, as part of a broader cost of living support package. Those on the lowest incomes were generally less likely to take journeys using personal vehicles prior to the recent rises in the cost of living, according to data from the Department for Transport. Among all adults, 43% reported that they would not be able to save money in the next 12 months, in March 2022 (16 to 27 March 2022); this is the highest this percentage has been since this question was first asked in March 2020 (27 March to 6 April 2020). Among those who said they have gas or electricity supplied to their home, 6% reported they were behind on their gas or electricity bills in March 2022 (16 to 27 March 2022).