UK incomes down 13% over 4 years

National incomes in the UK fell by more than 13pct this year compared to the start of the recession four years ago, according to a new study Tuesday. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said national and household incomes had been affected by the recession as well as high levels of inflation. National income per head in the second quarter of the year was 13.2% below its pre-recession level at the start of 2008. Trade Union Congress (the umbrella organisation for unions) general secretary Brendan Barber said: "An over-reliance on the housing bubble and personal debt exaggerated income growth in the run-up to the recession. Now families have been hit by the biggest squeeze in their living standards in nearly a century. "That's why high quality jobs and a fairer distribution of decent wages must be at the heart of our economic recovery plan. "A return to business as usual - where those at the top grab an ever-larger slice of a dwindling earnings pie - will simply create another huge bust."