Economic conditions for the average Briton took a turn for the worse last month as the cost of living went up more quickly than earnings, figures compiled for Sky News show.

Sky’s Hard Times index fell to 94.1 in August, down from 94.3 in July – which already represented the toughest economic environment since the end of the 1980s recession.

The Hard Times Table is compiled for Sky News by Oxford Economics and takes into account factors including inflation, wage rises, benefits and the level of government spending.

Andrew Goodwin, the consultancy’s senior economist, said:

The index fell for the nineteenth successive month in August, further increasing the squeeze on households.
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The impact of the public sector cuts has barely shown up in the index so far, while the pattern of high inflation and low earnings is likely to be with us for some time to come.

Today the Office of National Statistics reported that UK retail sales suffered a surprise fall in August, the first drop since January.

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