Over 4 million working households now ‘struggling to afford a decent life’
More than four million working households across the UK do not earn enough to make a “decent living”, new research has found.
Loughborough University’s Center for Social Policy Research said data covering the year before Labour’s election victory “reveals the scale of the challenge facing the Government”.
It comes after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said last month: “Helping the British people with their living costs is my top priority.”
Findings from CRSP and funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) underline the stark economic reality facing millions of families.
The research found that 4.2 million working households were living below the minimum income standard (MIS) in 2023/24. This figure represents more than two-thirds (68.5 percent) of all households falling below the standard; this is a significant increase from just over half in 2008/09.
Researchers define MIS as the income required for different types of households to meet their basic needs and to actively participate in society. This figure has been calculated to be £30,500 per year for a single person in 2025, and around £74,000 for a couple with two children.
Overall, 25.3 million people, including children, working-age adults and retirees, were part of households under MIS in 2023/24, a significant increase on 16.5 million in 2008/09.
Researchers warned that those living below this threshold often struggle to heat their homes, enjoy family days out or save for the future.
JRF chief analyst Peter Matejic said: “Almost four in 10 of the population of the world’s sixth richest country cannot afford to make a decent living. It is simply not right that millions of people do not earn enough to meet a publicly accepted standard of living.”
“Not earning enough has a devastating impact on people’s productivity at work, their mental health and their relationships with family and friends. Worrying about meeting basic needs means people can’t spend time on the things that will grow them and our economy.”
CRSP lead report author Elaine Robinson said: “Our analysis shows that work is increasingly failing to provide people with what they need for a decent standard of living, with more than two-thirds of working-age households living on an inadequate income having someone working.
“Wages have failed to keep pace with the cost of living, and rapid increases in the cost of essential goods such as food, energy bills, transport and childcare have hit low-income families particularly hard.
“This report reveals the scale of the challenge facing the Government. Improvements in workers’ rights are welcome, but they do little to ensure that work ensures households have what they need to meet basic needs, let alone feel part of the society they live in.”
The report follows Solutions Foundation estimates last week that 55 percent of households living in poverty have at least one employee; this rate was 38 percent in the mid-90s.
