Richest quarter of Northern Ireland households see disposable income increase, while bottom 25% sees sixth fall in spending power in a row – now down to under £20 a week after essentials

New figures published by the Northern Ireland Consumer Council on Monday reveals the stark gap between the richest and poorest households when it comes to the amount of money left over each week once bills and living expenses have been paid for.

The quarter of households with the lowest income are left with less than £20 per week once bills and living expenses have been paid, figures published by the Northern Ireland Consumer Council show.

And discretionary income for those in the bottom 25% has fallen for the sixth quarter in a row.

For the highest earning 25%, however, the amount of money left over each week has instead grown and now stands at over £560.

This comes after research by consumer rights organisation Which? showed that the cost-of-living crisis appears to be hitting Northern Ireland families harder than those in other parts of the UK, with consumers here more likely to cut back on essentials.

Research carried out on behalf of Which?, published on Friday, found that 44% of people in Northern Ireland are being forced to cut back on essentials.

In Scotland, the figure was 39% and in Wales it was 38%.

The Northern Ireland Consumer Council figures, meanwhile, show that for the lowest earning households – the bottom 25% of the income distribution – discretionary income has decreased by nearly half compared to last year.

The figures, from the consumer council's 'household expenditure tracker', cover the third quarter of 2022 – July, August and September.

During the same period in 2021, the same bottom 25% of households had £37.11 left over to spend after essentials. Discretionary income in the period covered by the latest figures had dropped to just £19.78.

It was a different story for those in the top-earning quarter of households, however.

While costs have also gone up for those in the top 25% in Northern Ireland – weekly spending on basics went up from £696.65 in 2021 to £710.35 in 2022 – an increase in income after tax has meant discretionary spending power has gone up slightly.

The top earning quarter of households are now able to set aside or use as ‘disposable income’ 1.4% more each week – £563.16 compared to £555.16 in the previous quarter.

For the middle two quarters, discretionary income was listed as £66.46 and £199.09.

Noyona Chundur, chief executive of the consumer council, said: “The consumer council first published its household expenditure tracker last year, and with each publication, we have seen a decline in discretionary income for Northern Ireland’s lowest earning households. The statistics within the household expenditure tracker quantify what we already know and are seeing on a daily basis: that consumers are significantly struggling at the moment.”

The chief executive continued: “The household expenditure tracker shows that despite an increase of basic spending across all four income quartiles, it was only those in income quartiles 1 and 2 that experienced a further decrease in discretionary income.”