Young adults and renters among worst hit by cost of living crisis

Young adults and renters are some of the groups of people worst hit by rising prices, official figures show.

Those aged 25 to 34 were at greater risk of financial vulnerability than those over the age of 75, the data showed.

Renters were more likely to report difficulty paying housing costs.

While more than a quarter (28%) of mortgage holders said it was difficult to afford their mortgage, 43% of renters reported it was very or somewhat difficult to afford rent.

Compared to mortgage payers, renters were spending less on food and essentials, were more likely to have run out of food and to be behind on energy bills.

Renters spent an average of 21% of their disposable income on rent, compared to 16% of mortgage payers, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

Similarly, disabled adults faced greater financial difficulties than non-disabled adults.

The ONS has published analysis on the impact of the cost of living crisis from February to the start of May, before mortgage rates began increasing in earnest.

It analysed the proportion of people affected by price rises, and the characteristics associated with financial vulnerability.

It comes as the government announced public sector pay rises of between 5% and 7% this week and official figures showed wage growth remained at record high of 7.3%, but was still outpaced by inflation.