Every household will lose a staggering £1,250 a year because of the Brexit vote, independent forecasters say as they painted a devastating picture of falling living standards, including no increase in real wages for at least another six years.
The respected Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) also warned that working families will be hit hardest by the unprecedented slump, with pensioners better protected.
Workers will suffer because of an expected 3.7 per cent fall in real earnings by the start of the next decade, compared with the pre-referendum forecast.
Crucially, the ultra-gloomy prediction only takes into account the uncertainty triggered by the June result not the effect of any eventual Brexit deal, which is mired in confusion.
At its traditional post-Autumn Statement briefing, the IFS said the forecasts were based on the calculations made by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the official Treasury watchdog.
IFS economist Andrew Hood said: The OBRs figures are for real GDP per household to be £1,250 lower in 2020-21, as a result of the vote to leave the EU.