FAMILIES in Northern Ireland have a fiver more in their pockets to spend on luxuries each week.
For after nearly two years of decline, their spending power increased from £98 per week to £103.
And according to the latest Asda Income Tracker report, that 5.3% increase was the third-best in the UK, behind just Yorkshire & Humber (6.7%) and London (7.3%).
But despite that, Northern Ireland still remains the weakest of all regions and lags considerably behind the rest of the UK, where the average family now has £221 a week at its disposal and is £11 better off compared to this time last year.
The income tracker, independently compiled by the Centre for Economics & Business Research (Cebr), has become an established barometer of spending power, indicating how much families have left in their pockets after all taxes and essential bills are paid.
While spending power is now in recovery in the north, the return to growth has been delayed, driven by weaker earnings growth and exposure to inflationary pressure.
And despite the latest uplift, the north's spending power has nose-dived from the end of 2021, pre the cost-of-living crisis, when it stood at £134 a week.
Cebr managing economist and Income Tracker author Sam Miley said: “Just 12 months ago, the Income Tracker was showing that household spending power in Northern Ireland was dropping at a record level as the cost-of-living crisis ate into household budgets.
“While spending power has now returned to growth, households at the lower end of the income spectrum are still witnessing falling spending power, while younger households are also faring worse.”
He added: “Northern Ireland sees a disproportionate number of public sector jobs compared to the UK average. This has held back spending power in the region, given that public sector pay growth has been outstripped by the private sector over the last two years. Northern Ireland also tends to witness a lower employment rate and a higher inactivity rate compared to the UK average. These factors contribute to the regional disparity in spending power.
“In the near term, Northern Ireland’s labour market has held up better than most amidst difficult economic conditions, which supported above-average income growth and the return to improving spending power in the third quarter.”
Niall Keyes, senior director at Asda NI, said: “This latest data indicates there are green shoots on the horizon, which can only be a positive. But as a retailer, we know the cost-of-living crisis continues to hit hard and this means ongoing challenges for many local families who are concerned about their finances and the need to make them stretch as far as possible.”
