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Families feel the ‘unprecedented’ squeeze

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Families are struggling with an “unprecedented” squeeze on their living standards amid high costs and flatlining wages, a report has warned.

The minimum cost of living has soared by one quarter since the economic downturn and the true inflationary pressures on many households are much worse than official measures suggest, a report for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) argued.

The cost of the goods and services which people believe they need to ensure a minimum acceptable standard of living has rocketed by 25% since the foundation’s research was first published in 2008.

This is a much faster rate compared with a 17% increase in the standard measure of inflation recorded by the consumer prices index.

The research found that families are having to deal with an “unprecedented erosion of household living standards” as the gap widens between what they feel they need to live comfortably on and their actual income.

It said that in 2008, a single person earning £13,000 would have reached the minimum they needed to get by.

If their wage had risen in line with average increases, they would now be earning £14,000 which is around £3,000 short of the £16,850 salary needed to cover higher living costs in 2013, according to the report.

A working couple with two children now need to earn £19,400 each just to maintain adequate living standards, the report found, while a single parent would need earnings of around £25,600.

Childcare costs over the last five years have soared over twice as fast as inflation at 37%, the report said.

Energy costs have increased by 39% over the period, public transport has become 30% more expensive and food costs have risen by 24% since 2008 according to the JRF’s calculations.