Households with the lowest incomes faced higher inflation than those with the highest income, according to new research released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
Compared with the annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation figure of 6.7% in March 2022, a new breakdown by the CSO shows that households with the lowest incomes experienced higher inflation, up to 7.6%, while those in the highest income category had annual estimated inflation of 6.1%
Households paying a mortgage had estimated annual inflation of 6.3% while for households that own their home outright, inflation was estimated to be 7.0%
Households that rent their home had a higher than average inflation rate of 7.0% for those renting from a private owner and 7.3% for those renting from a local authority
Compared with the March 2022 CPI figure of 6.7%, the annual inflation rate was 6.5% for urban households and 7.3% for rural households
Households where the household reference person is aged under 35 had estimated inflation of 6.6%, and where the reference person is aged 65 or over, annual inflation was estimated to be 7.2%
Higher than average inflation was observed for households of one adult (7.7%), one adult with children (7.2%), or two adults without children (6.9%)
Commenting on the report, Edel Flannery, Senior Statistician in the Prices Division, said: “The increasing rate of inflation since the middle of 2021 has prompted greater interest in a price change and its effects on households. The CPI is a measure of average inflation for all households. However, each household has its own unique consumption pattern of goods and services and therefore its own personal experience of inflation.
“The research paper published by the CSO today attempts to take account of those differences between households and provides an estimated breakdown of the CPI results by household characteristics up to March 2022, calculated by combining the CPI results with more detailed expenditure data from the 2015/16 Household Budget Survey.”
The report presents estimates of inflation classified by household income, the composition of the household, housing tenure, age of the household reference person, and whether the household is in an urban or rural setting.