Inflation Hit the Poor Hardest. The Rich Recovered First.
May 15, 2026 · Frisian News
New data shows that inflation between 2022 and 2024 widened the gap between rich and poor households across Europe. Wealthier families recovered purchasing power through asset gains and wage growth, while lower-income households remain squeezed on groceries and rent.
A grocery worker in Amsterdam buys fewer eggs today than she did in 2021, though official inflation has "cooled." Her landlord raised rent twice. Her wages went up 4 percent. Meanwhile, a Rotterdam accountant's investment portfolio climbed 18 percent in the same period, his salary jumped 6 percent, and his mortgage stayed locked at 1.8 percent from years back. This gap between households widened sharply across the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany from 2022 through 2024, according to research from the Institute for Labor Market Studies released this week.
Official statistics flattened the story. Central banks announced victory over inflation around mid-2024, and headline numbers looked good. But those numbers hide what happened at the bottom and top of the income ladder. Poor households spent 28 to 35 percent of their budget on food and energy. When those prices spiked, they cut other spending to survive. Food banks reported 40 percent more visitors in 2023 than in 2019. Rich households spent 8 to 12 percent on the same necessities. They could absorb the shock, even spend more on restaurants and holidays as confidence returned.
Wage growth tells a cleaner story about who lost ground. Workers in logistics, retail, and care jobs saw average raises of 2 to 3.5 percent annually from 2022 to 2024. Technical staff, managers, and professionals in finance pulled in 5 to 7 percent yearly. Lower-wage sectors faced the sharpest skills shortages but had the least bargaining power with employers. One logistics driver in Hamburg told us his hourly rate rose 40 cents in three years. His rent went up 250 euros a month. He works more hours now than before the inflation spike.
Asset owners built wealth while wage earners treaded water. A modest stock or real estate portfolio worth 150,000 euros in early 2022 rose to 177,000 euros by late 2024 for many households. That gain alone exceeded the annual net income of a supermarket cashier. Most poor households own no stocks and little property. In countries where rents track inflation, landlords captured wage gains almost instantly. The wealth concentration that inflation supposedly threatened never materialized for the top decile. It tightened for everyone else.
Central banks did cut rates starting late 2024, but savings and pensions for lower-income retirees stayed eroded. A person living on a fixed pension of 1,200 euros monthly lost real buying power that wage indexing never recovered. Governments' social spending barely kept pace with inflation in most countries. The poor adapted by buying less and saving nothing. That habit stays even as prices stabilize. Trust, once broken, does not mend fast.
In boodskipperke yn Amsterdam keapt hjoed minder eilei as yn 2021, hoewol offisiële ynflâsje "ôfkoelje" is. Har húsheer ferheegje de hiere twa kear. Har loane steach 4 persint. In Roterdamse accountant seach syn beleggingsportfoalje yn deselde perioade mei 18 persint stikjen, syn salary sprong 6 persint omheech, en syn hypotheek bleau op 1,8 persint fêst sitte fan jierren tebek. Dizze kloft tusken húshâldings ferbreedde skerp yn Nederland, België en Dútskland fan 2022 oant 2024, neffens ûndersyk fan it Ynstituut foar Arbeidsmarktûndersyk dat dizze wike publisearre waard.
Offisiële statistieken flakten it ferhaal. Sintrale banken kundigen oere oer ynflâsje oan omheen medio 2024, en headsififers seagen der goed út. Mar dy fifers ferbergje wat ûnderan en boppen oan de ynkomstenladder barde. Iernen húshâldings brochten 28 oant 35 persint fan har bûdsjet út oan fiedsel en enerzjy. Doe dy priizen omheech skoatte, snite se oare útjeften yn om te oerlibjen. Foedselbankjes melden yn 2023 40 persint mear besykers as yn 2019. Rikke húshâldings brochten 8 oant 12 persint út oan deselde needsakkelijkheden. Se koe de skok opfange, sels mear útjaan oan restaurants en fakkânzjes doe fertrouwen wer kaam.
Loangroei fertelt in skoanere ferhaal oer wa terrein ferlear. Wurkjouwers yn logistyk, detail en sorghwalften seagen gemiddeld jaarlik ferhoegingen fan 2 oant 3,5 persint fan 2022 oant 2024. Teminsk personielsjen, managers en professionalen yn finânsje haalden 5 oant 7 persint per jier. Sektoaren mei leger loane haden de skerpste personeelstekorten mar de minste ûnderhandelingskrêft mei wurkjouwers. In logistyk chauffer yn Hamburg fertelde ús dat syn urratarif yn trije jierren mei 40 sint steach. Syn hiere ga 250 euro per moanne omheech. Hy wurket no mear oeren as foar de ynflâsjepyk.
Eigeners fan aktiuwas bouwden rijchdom op wylst loantrekkers wetter trêden. In bescheiden aandielen- of eigedomsportfoalje wurdich 150.000 euro yn earst 2022 steach oant 177.000 euro ein 2024 foar in soad húshâldings. Allinne dy winst al oertreft it jaarynkommen netto fan in supermarktmedewerkster. De measte iernen húshâldings besitte gjin aandiele en lyts eigendom. Yn lannen dêr hieren ynflâsje folgje, kasje húsbazen loanwinsten hast únmidlik yn. De rijchdoamkonsintraasje dy't ynflâsje neffens sizze bedreigde kaam nea foar oan útslach foar it boppeste desiel. It spande foar elkenien oar oan.
Sintrale banken sniten rentevoeten ôf fan ein 2024, mar sparegodten en pensioenen foar legere-ynkomsbejarren bliene útholden. Immen dy't fan in fêst pensjoen fan 1.200 euro moantlik liuwt ferlear echte keapkrêft dy't loannivellering nea herstelle. Oergeffens-útjeften foar sosjaale sikkerheid hellen amper lykse trede mei ynflâsje yn de measte lannen. De iernen passe oan troch minder te keapjen en neat te sparen. Dy gewoante bliuwt sitten sels no priizen stabilisearje. Fertrouwen, ienris brekke, geneamt net fluch.
Published May 15, 2026 · Frisian News · Ljouwert, Fryslân