The average UK household spent £554.20 per week in the year to the end of last March, the highest level since before the financial crisis after adjusting for inflation, official data has shown.
According to the Office for National Statistics, the figure marks a rise of £21.20 in real terms when compared with the previous year.
Households spent an average of £79.70 a week on transport between April 2016 and March 2017 – an increase of £5.40 in real terms on 2016 – which makes transport the top spending category.
Households in the 65-to-74-year-old age group allocated close to a fifth of their total spending to recreation and culture during that period, while households without children spent a higher proportion on transport than households with children.
The ONS pointed out that inflation rose from 0.7 per cent in April 2016 to 2.3 per cent in March 2017, which at the time represented the highest level of inflation since September 2013. It said that rising levels of inflation tend to encourage households to bring forward certain purchases, especially of big-ticket items. This, it said, could be one of the drivers of higher levels of spending during the year.
Beyond transport, expenditure on food, non-alcoholic drinks, communication, restaurants and hotels saw particularly stark increases during the year, while spending on clothing and footwear, household goods, services, recreation and culture also witnessed a boost.
The ONS said that transport spending was likely driven by people buying cars, an increase in the cost of running vehicles, and a rise in the price of transport services - like air fares.
For the first time ever, recreation and culture was the second highest spending category overall. Households spent an average of £73.50 a week on goods and services that fell into this category, which was £5 more than they spent in the previous year. The ONS said that one of the biggest reasons for that rise was an increase in spending on package holidays abroad.
England had the highest level of household spending for a third consecutive year. At £547.40 a week it was more than £10 higher than the UK average. But there were significant variations across the regions.
Average weekly household spending in London and the South East was over £600. In the North East it was approximately £200 less at £437.
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- UK
- Financial Crisis
- Office for National Statistics
- Inflation
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