UK’s poorest households face biggest jump in inflation, says ONS

*The Office for National Statistics discloses the jump in inflationary rate is driven by higher energy bills, more expensive food, which essentials, such as milk and pasta leaping in price, and weighing particularly ‘heavily on the poorest in society’

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

Amid the over 41 percent inflationary rate in the country, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said that the poorest tenth of United Kingdom’s (UK) households witnessed the sharpest jump in the cost-of-living October 2022.

ConsumerConnect learnt the ONS official figures indicated that the gap between inflation faced by the poorest and wealthiest UK households widened to the largest since the financial crisis in 2009.

The development came as statisticians revealed Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation of 11.1 percent last month for the country.

The inflation rate jumped to a 41-year-high from 10.1percent the previous month, stated the ONS.

The jump was driven by higher energy bills and more expensive food, which essentials, such as milk and pasta leaping in price.

In a separate report based on the data, the ONS also said these increases were weighing particularly heavily on the poorest in society.

The office also noted that the poorest 10% of households were hit by a 12.5% rise in their living costs for the month in the UK.

The richest vs. poorest households

Meanwhile, the richest 10% of households experienced inflation of 9.6% October this year in Britain, said the report.

The ONS further highlighted that the gap is largely driven by increases in energy and food costs as poorer households spent “a greater proportion of their expenditure” on these compared with the top tenth.

Jack Leslie, Senior Economist at the Resolution Foundation, said: “Everyone in Britain is affected by double digit inflation – which has caused pay packets to shrink at record rates.

“But some groups are more affected than others, and Britain now has a significant cost-of-living gap between rich and poor households.”

Leslie stated: “Rising energy bills and rapid food prices mean that low-income households now face an effective average inflation rate of around 12.5%, while in the cold winter months, the over-80s are already facing inflation rates of around 15.3%.

“This shows why the Chancellor needs to protect vulnerable households through the ongoing cost-of-living crisis when he sets out his autumn statement.”