Living standards falling in most Member States

Living standards, as measured by the median equivalised disposable income, fell in 15 Member States in 2010 compared with a year earlier, after adjusting for inflation. In the vast majority of Member States, the median income fell most for the unemployed and least for people in employment. Income decreased in the bottom quintile of the income distribution in most Member States. In 15 Member States, income inequality increased because income in the top quintile decreased less or increased more than in the bottom quintile. When looking at households’ material conditions, in 2011 around 10% of the EU population reported that they could not afford a meal with meat, chicken, fish or a vegetarian equivalent every second day. This represents an increase of 1 percentage point compared with 2010.