Almost half of households do not see benefits of economic growth, report says - BBC News BBC Homepage Skip to content Accessibility Help Your account Home News Sport Earth Reel Worklife Travel Culture Future Music TV Weather Sounds More menu More menu Search BBC Home News Sport Earth Reel Worklife Travel Culture Future Music TV Weather Sounds Close menu BBC News Menu Home Climate World UK Business Tech Science Entertainment & Arts Health In Pictures More BBC Verify Newsbeat Business New Tech Economy Technology of Business Artificial Intelligence Africa Business Paths to Success Almost half of households do not see benefits of economic growth, report says Image source, Getty Images By Michael Race  and  Mitchell Labiak , Business reporters Published 3 September 2026 Almost half of people in Britain live in areas where economic growth does not translate into a better quality of life with a "stark" North-South divide in the spending power of households, a new report finds. Researchers at consultancy PwC said every region in the north of England, Midlands and Wales had lower spending power than the country's average, with London and the South East comfortably above. The findings come as Prime Minister Andy Burnham has pledged to tackle regional inequalities in a bid to boost living standards across the country. But questions remain over the PM's plans, with surging government borrowing costs set to limit his room for manoeuvre at October's Budget. The PwC report said the equivalent of 12.5 million households - 46% - lived in parts of the country where economic growth, often seen through increased business investment and job opportunities, was not leading to better living standards. It said households in the north east of England had 6.6% less spending power than the national average, equivalent to £1,542 less a year. The North West was £1,493 less, while Yorkshire and the Humber were worst off with spending power down £1,917 comparatively. Meanwhile, households in