FAMILY spending power in the north remains the lowest in the UK, according to new figures.
The latest data from the Asda Income Tracker shows that discretionary weekly income in Northern Ireland - the money left to spend after tax and essential bills, increased by 8.4 per cent (£8.80) over the last year to £113 - the sharpest proportional growth of all UK regions.
The north, alongside the south east of England, were also the only two areas to report a spike in discretionary income over the last quarter but, crucially the local rate is still almost half the UK average (£213) and £27 less than its nearest regional rival, the north east of England (£140).
Family spending power was up by £12.32 a week year on-year in June in the UK as a whole - a 6.1 per cent annual increase.
London has the highest discretionary weekly income, at £292 per week, and also experienced the strongest annual growth in absolute terms, at £16.20 (3.8 per cent).
Kay Neufeld, managing economist at CEBR said the latest figures show Northern Ireland is narrowing the gap with the rest of the UK in terms of discretionary income.
“Northern Ireland is continuing to catch-up with the rest of the UK in terms of family spending power, with positive signs of this upward turn reflected in the most recent figures," he said.
"A decrease in the Northern Ireland public sector workforce to the lowest level since records began is a trend which suggests an increasingly dynamic private sector led economy."
“From a UK-wide point of view, the Q2 2019 figures paint a healthy picture of family spending power. However, with Northern Ireland still recording the lowest discretionary income in the UK at £113 per week, there is still a significant gap between Northern Ireland and the national figure of £213 for the second quarter of this year," Mr Neufeld added.
