Lowest Earning Households Left With Under £42 Per Week

Northern Ireland's lowest earning households have seen their discretionary income fall by over 35% since the first quarter of 2021, leaving them with less than £42 per week on average after paying for essentials.

The Consumer Council has released the latest Northern Ireland Household Expenditure Tracker for Quarter 1 2024 (January to March), which tracks changes to income and expenditure for households in NI across four income groups (quartiles).

In Quarter 1 2024 (January to March), on average these households:

• spent 52% of their total basic spending on food, rent, energy, and transport

• have 7% less income before tax than the UK average

• saw their discretionary income rise 14% over the last quarter from £36.65 to £41.73 per week

• saw a rise of 2% in income after tax

The ability of households in Northern Ireland to absorb unexpected bills or price rises differs sharply depending on household income. Northern Ireland's highest earning households have on average almost 16 times more discretionary income left to spend every week compared to the lowest earning households. Anne-Marie Murphy, our Director of Strategy & Emerging Markets said: "The lowest earning households have seen a small rise in discretionary income over the last quarter, but this is a decrease of over a third since the beginning of the cost of living crisis.

"Despite a small decrease in energy costs, food continues to form a disproportionate share of the lowest earning households' spending, compared to higher earning households. Food costs represent 22% of their weekly essential spending compared to 16% for the highest earning households.

"This expanded Household Expenditure Tracker considers all Northern Ireland households and shows that half of those households have on average less than £93 per week after all essential bills are paid. It is concerning how little money many families have left to cover unexpected bills or price rises.

"Our latest research also shows that nearly two in five (39%) of Northern Ireland's consumers feel that their personal finances have had a negative impact on their mental health.

"To help consumers, we offer a variety of support and advice online including interactive tools to compare energy costs and advice on how to reduce your bills and make your money go further."