Irish Examiner view: Families are being hit from all sides

Wage growth has not been a barrier against inflation — nor has it been equally distributed among the working population

Families that would previously be considered to have a good middle income are feeling the strain now. Picture: iStock

You would want to have been living under a stone to have made it to 2026 without having felt the squeeze from the cost of living in some way — it doesn’t matter that the average weekly income is now over €1,000, as reported last week. 

Wage growth has not proven an effective barrier against relentless inflation and other cost increases, nor indeed has wage growth been equally distributed among the working population.