Scottish household’s £400 better off than before crisis

A new study has revealed that the average Scottish household income is more than £400 higher than before the recession kicked off by the 2007-08 economic crisis.

Across the UK, meanwhile, incomes were £105 a year lower.

Think-tank The Resolution Foundation, which focuses on living standards, found that incomes in 2014 were 1.9 per cent higher than before the credit crunch.

Its report showed average household income in 2014 across Scotland was £23,000, a rise of £424 from 2007-08.

Pensioner household incomes last year were on average 9.4 per cent above their pre-downturn level but income in working-age households was 4.6 percent lower.

People living in the south east of England were found to typically be £921 worse off.

That contrasted with the average income in the north east of England increasing by £794 over the period.

In Scotland, typical hourly wages fell by 6.4 per cent between 2009 and 2014, but this drop was not as great as that seen across the UK, with wages down by an average of 9.3 per cent.

Laura Gardiner, senior policy analyst at Resolution, said: “Households in Scotland have experienced a very different kind of downturn to the rest of the UK, with a short fall in living standards in 2011 and flat or gently increasing household incomes since.

“By last year incomes were over £400 higher than pre-downturn levels and they are set to increase further in 2015.

“But considerable generational differences lie behind this positive overall picture, with pensioner households likely to have fared far better than those of working age.

“This makes it hard to talk about living standards in a way that resonates with people’s experiences across Scotland.”