Families in Scotland and the East Midlands region of England are now 'better off' than they were before the pandemic, the latest edition of Asda’s Income Tracker has found.
The retailer's Income Tracker found that Scottish families have seen the amount they are left with each week, after paying bills and spending on essentials, increase by £10 (€12) on average, to £257 (€308).
In addition, disposable income in the region increased by 14.7% year-on-year in the third quarter, Asda added.
Disposable Income
Elsewhere, households in the East Midlands have seen their disposable income per week rise to £217 (€260) in the third quarter of this year, up from a previous peak of £212 (€254) per week in Q1 2021.
'Improvements in the regions have largely been driven by inflation continuing to fall and more robust job markets when compared to the rest of the UK,' Asda noted.
Up until now, London had been the only other part of the UK where disposable income had surpassed its pandemic peak – with households having £323 (€388) per week to spend, on average, after paying their bills.
Spending Power Growth
“The stronger-than-expected fall in inflation in September has helped to support spending power growth, taking three regions’ spending power above their respective pre-crisis peaks," commented Sam Miley, managing economist and forecasting lead at Cebr.
“Further improvement in the Income Tracker is expected for the rest of this year and into next, with income growth outweighing inflation. Announcements at the upcoming Budget could affect this trajectory. One likely change is a hike to fuel duty, which would partially reverse the recent deflation experienced in the transport category and put downward pressure on household spending power, all else equal.”
