4m UK households in work not earning enough for decent life, say researchers

More than four million UK households in work are not earning enough money to live a “decent life”, according to research.

The data, covering the year just before Labour came into power, “lays bare the scale of the challenge facing the Government”, the Centre for Research in Social Policy (CRSP) at Loughborough University said.

Last month, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said “helping British people with the cost of living is my top priority”.

The CRSP research, funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), suggested there were 4.2 million working households living below the minimum income standard (MIS) in 2023/24.

This is more than two thirds (68.5%) of all households living below the standard, and has risen from just over half of households in that situation in 2008/09.

Researchers said the MIS – calculated as the amount needed for different types of households to meet their needs and to participate in society – was £30,500 a year for a single person in 2025 and around £74,000 for a couple with two children.

They said there were 25.3 million individuals – including children, working-age adults and pensioners – in households below MIS in 2023/24, up from 16.5 million in 2008/09.

Those living in households below the MIS might not always be able to afford to heat their home, have days out with their children at weekends or save money for the future, researchers said.

Peter Matejic, JRF chief analyst, said: “Nearly four in 10 of the population of the sixth richest country in the world can’t afford to live a decent life. It’s simply not right that millions of people don’t earn enough to afford a publicly agreed standard of living.

“Not earning enough has a ruinous effect on people’s productivity at work, their mental health and their relationships with family and friends. Worrying about affording the basics means people can’t spend time on the things that make them and our economy grow.”

Inadequate income

Elaine Robinson, lead report author from the CRSP, said: “Our analysis shows that increasingly, work does not give people what they need for a decent standard of living – over two-thirds of working-age households living on an inadequate income have someone in work.

“Wages have failed to keep pace with the cost of living, and rapid rises in the cost of necessities such as food, energy bills, transport and childcare have hit low-income families particularly hard.

“This report lays bare the scale of the challenge facing the Government. Improvements in workers’ rights are welcome, but these do little to ensure that work provides what households need to cover the basics, let alone to feel part of the society they live in.”