Impact Of Increased Cost Of Living On Adults Across Great Britain - February To May 2023

15th July 2023

A report from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Analysis of the proportion of the population that are affected by an increase in their cost of living, and of the characteristics associated with financial vulnerability, using data from the Opinions and Lifestyle survey.

In this article, we have identified groups of the population experiencing financial vulnerability in Great Britain. In the period, 8 February to 1 May 2023, using the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (OPN), we found:

renters (4.7 higher odds) and mortgage holders (2.0 higher odds) had higher odds of experiencing financial vulnerability compared with those who own their home outright

the difference between renters' and mortgage holders' likelihood of experiencing some form of financial vulnerability may reflect that, on average, renters report spending a higher proportion of their disposable income on rent (21%), than mortgage holders on their mortgage (16%), according to the latest data from the Living Cost and Food Survey (UK, financial year ending 2022)

other groups with higher odds of experiencing financial vulnerability included adults aged 25 to 34 years (3.4 higher odds compared with those aged 75 years and over) and disabled adults (1.9 higher odds compared with non-disabled adults)

Examining groups of the population who were having difficulty with their rent, mortgage or affording food shopping specifically, we found:

around a third (35%) of adults reported it was difficult (very or somewhat) to afford their rent or mortgage payments, this proportion appeared higher among groups including; those receiving support from charities (57%), living in a household with one adult and at least one child (47%), receiving some form of benefits or financial support (45%), Asian or Asian British adults (53%), Black, African, Caribbean or Black British adults (47%), renters (43%) and disabled adults (41%)

around 4 in 10 (43%) renters reported that it was difficult to afford their rent payments, and around 3 in 10 (28%) mortgage holders reported it was difficult to afford their mortgage payments

around 1 in 20 (5%) of adults reported that in the past two weeks they had ran out of food and had been unable to afford more, this proportion appeared higher among groups including; those receiving support from charities (45%), living in a household with one adult and at least one child (28%), receiving some form of benefits or financial support (21%), Mixed or Multiple ethnicity adults (14%), Black, African, Caribbean or Black British adults (13%), renters (14%) and disabled adults (9%)

Commonly reported reasons among adults who said their cost of living had increased compared with a month ago continue to be an increase in:

the price of food shopping (96%)
gas or electricity bills (57%)
the price of fuel (37%)
rent or mortgage costs (27%)
These reported experiences reflect our inflation data, which shows that food and non-alcoholic beverage prices rose by 18.4%, in the year to May 2023.

Around a quarter (24%) of all adults were experiencing some form of financial vulnerability in the latest pooled period, a similar proportion to the period September 2022 to January 2023 (23%).

We found that the groups of the population with the highest odds of being financially vulnerable in the latest pooled period remained similar to the period September 2022 to January 2023, as shown in our Impact of increased cost of living on adults across Great Britain bulletin. These included:

renters (4.7 higher odds) and mortgage holders (2.0 higher odds), who had higher odds of experiencing financial vulnerability, compared with those who own their home outright

adults with a personal annual income of up to £10,000, who had higher odds of experiencing financial vulnerability (3.8 higher odds), compared with adults earning £50,000 or more per year

adults aged 25 to 34 years, who had higher odds of experiencing financial vulnerability (3.4 higher odds), compared with those aged 75 years and over

disabled adults, who had higher odds of experiencing financial vulnerability (1.9 higher odds), compared with non-disabled adults

Difficulty affording rent or mortgage payments
Groups of the population who were more likely to report finding it very or somewhat difficult to afford their rent or mortgage payments in the latest pooled period included:

around 4 in 10 (43%) renters, compared with 28% of mortgage holders

around 4 in 10 among adults within the lowest four quintiles of annual personal income (39% in the lowest quintile, 41% in the second, 38% in the third, 38% in the fourth), compared with 26% of those in the fifth and highest quintile (for more information on personal annual income quintiles, see Section 8: Glossary)

around 4 in 10 (41%) among disabled adults, compared with 32% of non-disabled adults

around 6 in 10 (57%) among adults who report receiving support from charities, including foodbanks, because of increases in their cost of living, compared with 34% among adults who do not receive support from charities

around half (47%) among adults living in a household with one adult and at least one dependent child, compared with 36% among adults living in a household with more than one adult and at least one dependent child and 34% among adults not living with a dependent child

over 4 in 10 (45%) among adults receiving some form of benefit or financial support (for more information on the definition of this group, see Section 8: Glossary), compared with 33% among adults who were not

around half among Asian or Asian British adults (53%) or Black, African, Caribbean or Black British adults (47%), compared with 33% among White adults.

Read the full ONS report HERE