The Guardian newspaper has reported the findings of the economic thinktank the Resolution Foundation which has found that rising employment and persistently low inflation in the UK have seen living standards in the country return to the levels of those experienced before the global economic crash of the late 2000s.
The UK was hit hard by the crash as major banks required state-led bailouts, with the bills for the rescue packages picked up by the taxpayer and with the government then introducing strict austerity measures as a result.
Unemployment increased and the economy slowed down, with incomes put under pressure during the UK’s most pronounced post-war economic downturn. Weak economic growth, low-wages and high inflation made individuals harder up.
But a slow recovery has taken place, in line with similar global trends. The Resolution Foundation has now found that increasing employment levels, rising incomes and low inflation mean that living standards are returning to the levels of their previous 2009 peak – though the pace of the recovery is likely to slow.
The thinktank describe recent economic conditions in the UK as ‘the longest squeeze on households in living memory’ but say they have finally come to an end. Nonetheless the Guardian reports that the group warn, ‘the pace of recovery was likely to slow during the course of the current parliament and that low-income families were particularly vulnerable to changes to the benefits system.’
The Resolution Foundation state that the recent recovery has led to the average income, adjusted for inflation, rising to its highest ever level at £24,300.
