Average household pre-tax-and-benefit income fell over 7% between 2007-08 and 2010-11, after accounting for inflation, as rising unemployment and the recession took their toll. While average net income continued to rise during the years of the recession itself and did not fall until 2010-11, average private incomes started falling in 2008-09.

These are amongst the findings of a new report by IFS researchers published today, Living Standards, Poverty and Inequality in the UK: 2012, funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. The IFS research is based on the government’s Households Below Average Income data, an analysis of which was published yesterday by the Department for Work and Pensions.

Today’s report provides a more detailed analysis of trends in living standards, poverty and inequality.