DisUnited Kingdom fact of the day

Looking at the impact of housing costs on living standards among different groups, the report shows from the start of the income slowdown in 2002 to 2015:

• Over half of households across the working age population have seen falling or flat living standards – equivalent to almost 11 million households;
• Two-thirds of the growth in average working age income has been wiped out by rising housing costs;
• More than all of the growth in private renter income has been wiped out by rising housing costs; and,
• The same is true for households headed by someone aged 25-44 who will also have seen all of the growth in average income wiped out by rising housing costs.

The report shows that while London is a standout case in terms of how housing costs have dragged down living standards – the share of income spent on housing has risen by almost a third in the capital since the early 2000s – it is wrong to see this as a southern problem. It finds that the North is catching up with the South – Scotland, the North West and the East Midlands have all experienced sharper increases in housing costs as a proportion of income than the South East and South West.

That is from the Resolution Foundation.