Middle-Income households feel the squeeze as inflation, rents and fuel costs tighten grip.
The report also found that essential household expenses continue to rise faster than discretionary spending, placing increasing strain on middle-income families. "The Middle-Class Squeeze Indicator widened sharply by 0.5 percentage points to 2.1 percentage points as accelerating core necessities such as transport, housing and insurance diverged from slightly cooling non-essential inflation," Matsei wrote.
The Middle-Class Squeeze Indicator widened sharply by 0.5 percentage points to 2.1 percentage points as accelerating core necessities such as transport, housing and insurance diverged from slightly cooling non-essential inflation.
Essential household expenses continue to rise faster than discretionary spending, placing increasing strain on middle-income families who are already absorbing higher interest rates, elevated fuel costs and rising rental prices.
PBC's Cost of Living Dashboard tracks these pressures monthly, giving households and policymakers a clear picture of where middle-income budgets are tightening most.
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