Jobless rise may cause repossession problems

The number of repossession cases in the UK could rise as the jobless total increases.

A second successive quarterly rise in the number of people out of work was recorded in the three months to November 2010, the Office for National Statistics revealed today (January 19th).

This showed a 0.2 per cent rise in the proportion of people of working age out of employment to 7.9 per cent, with the total figure growing to hit the 2.5 million mark.

At the same time, the number of people in work was 0.3 per cent down, to 29.089 million, or 70.4 per cent of the workforce.

While such figures may be relatively small, any upward trend will mean more people facing potential economic hardships and greater difficulties paying bills, which for some could include mortgage payments.

This could increase the threat of repossession for some people, while others could need help do deal with the possibility of bankruptcy or a county court judgement.

And the employment data also showed average weekly earnings only rose by 2.1 per cent in the year to April 2010, less than the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rate of inflation.

With CPI now at 3.7 per cent, it may be the case that earnings have continued to lag behind prices, making it increasingly hard those with debt to pay it back while also meeting everyday living costs.

Responding to the jobs news, employment minister Chris Grayling said the government is working to tackle the situation by “rebalancing the economy and supporting private sector jobs growth”.

By Joe White