Northern Ireland living standards 'improving' before Covid-19

In recent years Northern Ireland has had lower rates of poverty than the UK as a whole

There was an improvement in living standards in Northern Ireland in the year before the pandemic, official figures suggest.

Most indicators of poverty fell with a particularly significant decline in poverty among working-age adults.

That may reflect the historically strong job market before the pandemic hit.

Typical weekly wages also grew by 4% during 2019, well above the rate of inflation.

The Department for Communities uses two main measures of living standards: relative poverty and absolute poverty.

Poverty thresholds

An individual is considered to be in relative poverty if they are living in a household with an income below 60% of the typical UK income.

In 2019, the relative poverty threshold for a couple with no children was an income of £328 per week (before housing costs) from all sources or £17,151 per year.

An individual is considered to be in absolute poverty if they are living in a household with an income below 60% of the typical UK income as measured in 2010.

In 2019, the absolute poverty threshold for a couple with no children was an income of £300 per week (before housing costs) or £15,698 per year.

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In 2019/20 13% of individuals were in absolute poverty, a fall from 16% the year before.

The fall was bigger among working-age adults falling from 16% to 11%.

There was also a statistically significant decline in relative poverty among working age adults, from 18% to 14%.

In recent years Northern Ireland has had lower rates of poverty than the UK as a whole.

For example in 2019 the absolute poverty rate for the UK was 18% compared to 13% in Northern Ireland.

That may be because Stormont introduced measures to mitigate the impact of benefit cuts.