Families may have to rely more on promotional labels when doing their shopping after a survey revealed many are worse off than they were last year.

The Asda income tracker found that the average household had £60 less to spend last month than they did in May 2010, with £165 in their pockets per week after essentials such as tax, mortgages, food and utilities were taken into account.

This represents a record low since the supermarket first started publishing the figures in January 2007.

It was attributed to soaring food prices and rapid increases in transport costs and utility bills, despite the economy as a whole gradually recovering from the recession.

Charles Davis from the Centre for Economics and Business Research said: "The current picture of low wage increases and rapid inflation is likely to persist for the rest of the year, pointing to an extended squeeze on real disposable income."

Back in March 2011, the same income tracker found that the average UK household had £172 worth of discretionary spending cash available per week.

Denny Bros Ltd, 27 June 2011