Household purchasing power at different income levels since 2019

This report examines household purchasing power at different income levels since 2019. The Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) assessed the share of income needed to purchase a 2019 basket of goods and services and tracked changes over time based on two income measures—market income and disposable income—for three periods. The first of these looks at quarters 19Q4 and 21Q1 to assess household purchasing power almost a year after the start of the pandemic. The period from 21Q1 to 22Q2 was then examined to consider the sharp rise in prices. Lastly, the period from 19Q4 to 22Q4 PBO was delved into to estimate households’ situation as the pandemic drew to its end.