AFTER A summer of grim economic news, new research is showing that students will be among those hit the hardest by the country’s financial squeeze. 

The Student Price Index, calculated by the Open University, has revealed that prices for students are rising 50% faster than the average UK household. Price inflation for full-time students was found to be at 6.6% in 2008, compared to 4.4% for the general public.

This is due to students spending a larger portion of their income on budget items which have increased in price the most over the past year. 

Economist Alan Shipman, who carried out the study, said: “Inflation hits different socio-economic groups in varying ways. In my research, students certainly are experiencing a higher inflationary rate because the cost of what they need to buy is among the highest categories of price rises. 

“To say that this will be the most expensive academic year for higher education students to date would not be stretching it. For many students, it is their first experience of independence, and stepping out into the current economic climate will be a hard lesson in itself.”

Part-time students experienced a slightly lower rate of price inflation at 6.3%. 

This stems from full-time students seeing sharply above-inflation rises in housing costs, even when living in halls of residence. 

The drastic increase in tuition fees for English and Welsh students in 2006 also contributed to the discrepancy.