2010 – 2014: the worst five-year period for living standards since records began

2010 to 2014 was the only five-year period where real disposable household income per head fell

 

2010 to 2014 was the worst five-year period for living standards since records began half a century ago, according to new analysis from the TUC.

The analysis, published today, compared five-year averages of UK disposable household income per head with the averages for the preceding five years.

It found that 2010 to 2014 was the only five-year period since records began in 1960 during which real disposable household income per head fell rather than grew compared to the preceding five years (2005-09).

Surprisingly, even during the height of the financial crisis from 2008 to 2012 there was a rise of 1.5 per cent on the preceding five-years (2003-07).

The TUC said the figures were further evidence that the coalition’s austerity programme was more to blame for the loss of living standards than the financial crisis that preceded it.

“Living standards have suffered the worst slump in at least half a century, leaving workers paying a heavy price for the government’s bad choices over the last five years,” said TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady.

“Conservative plans for extreme austerity after the election risk killing off the recovery again,” she added. “It would be Groundhog Day for living standards, making families worse-off and cutting public services down to a stump.”

James Bloodworth is the editor of Left Foot Forward. Follow him on Twitter

43 Responses to “2010 – 2014: the worst five-year period for living standards since records began”

  1. Selohesra

    2010-14 has been tough but of course nothing to do with Labour’s recession that immediately preceded it

  2. Gerschwin

    Well if the TUC says it! Nothing biased or partial about their opinion – that’s a fully independent, impartial, honest, unskewed bit of research that is from the TUC – Like I asked yesterday, do the sloppy, lazy goons on this website just have the TUC write their copy for them? I think so.
    (PS – is this like 0% growth, oh no…that’s a Labour PIErty thing).

  3. wj

    What? Not even under the evil Thatcher?

  4. littleoddsandpieces

    We had a boom. Then Austerity. Then a Bust and food kitchens. And this 1920s failure had no effect on stopping the 1929 Crash caused by finance and nothing to do with politicians tinkering with public spending.

    The state pension is payable if remain in work or lose job to the massive austerity job cuts.

    Pensioners did not cause the recession, nor are they a burden on the young.

    The flat rate state pension effectively abolishes the states pension from next year, on and from 6 April 2016, to the lowest waged, who never had any chance of other pension provision, so leaving us in penniless starvation forever in old age.

    See why, at end of my petition, in my WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT section, at:

    https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/state-pension-at-60-now

  5. James Chilton

    You make an assumption – that statements about living standards made by the TUC are “biased”. Then you rely on the logical fallacy that because the TUC is a “biased” source, what it has to say (about this matter) must necessarily be untrue.

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