ESTIMATES OF SOCIAL MINIMUM BASKETS FOR THE THIRD QUARTER OF 2021

This article presents estimates of the social minimum for conditions in the third quarter of 2021. They take into account the extent and pattern of need satisfaction under typical conditions. Due to the lack of data on changes in household consumption in 2021, the unusual conditions of Covid-19 have not yet been taken into account. When they appear and if there is a need to change the model assumptions, the value of the social minimum for this period can be estimated again. External conditions for households in the period under review were reasonably favourable (falling unemployment rate to 5.6%, decreasing number of registered unemployed). The increase in consumer prices amounted to 1%. The value of the social minimum increased modestly: by 0.6% in households without children, by 0.8% among households of pensioners, by 1.1% in a family with an older child (from 13 to 15 years of age). This insignificant increase was due to the lower valuation of food (a decrease from 0.4% to 0.5% depending on the type of household). Expenditure on housing and energy – the second important category in the model – increased from 0.8% in one-person households to 1% in four- and five-person families