In 2023, household income fell by 2.5 percent from the previous year, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Household Finances Survey (HFS) released today (24 September 2024).
The survey found that median household disposable income across the UK was £34,500.
The median income for the poorest fifth increased by 2.3 percent to £16,400, figures showed. ONS said this was partly due to government cost of living support, however, this figure is still 2.4 percent below 2020 pre-pandemic levels.
Data for the richest fifth of the population showed that median income had dropped by 4.9 percent to £68,400, which is 4.3 percent below pre-pandemic 2020 levels.
Shift from long term trend
ONS said that median household income fell by an average of 0.3 percent per year between 2020 and 2023. This is in contrast to the longer-term average, where income increased 0.8 percent a year over the 10 years leading up to 2023.
The mean income for the richest fifth of households was six times greater than the poorest fifth, at £15,000 and £82,900, respectively, while mean weekly expenditure was only two times greater for the richest fifth. ONS said that this difference was “likely to contribute to greater financial resilience for richer households”.
Income inequality narrows
ONS data also showed that income inequality decreased from 35.5 percent in 2022 to 33.1 percent in 2023.
The data service said this is the largest year-on-year decrease in inequality since 2011 and was driven by the annual increase in income for the poorest fifth of households and the decrease in annual income for the richest fifth.
The news about changing household income comes in the same week that nurses in England rejected a pay award from the government.
Nurses reject pay award
Around 92,800 members (64 percent) of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) that work for the NHS in England voted to reject the 5.5 percent pay award for 2024/25.
RCN said that as this is a pay award rather than a pay offer, the results of its consultation will not directly affect employers’ payment of it. “However, it shows our members’ strength of feeling that something fundamental must change for nursing pay,” it said.
The award is expected to be paid next month and will be backdated to 1 April 2024.
