Women to need debt management most as job cuts loom?

Women could be the most likely to need debt management plans if a downbeat prediction about their employment prospects turns out to be true.

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has warned that the level of female unemployment is set to increase further due to the predominance of female employees in the public sector.

It released a study stating that growth in public sector employment in the last decade was three times as fast for women than men and this gender tilt means that a net reduction in jobs is less likely to hit male workers.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: “Female unemployment is already at a 23-year high, and with so many women employed in the public sector, this will only deteriorate as job cuts in our health, education, local government and the civil service continue to mount.”

He also said that geographical areas where public sector employment makes up a greater proportion of jobs will suffer disproportionately and argued that the government should “think again” about its public spending cuts.

For those who lose their jobs and have debts – male or female – the impact may be severe as it could compromise their ability to meet their monthly repayments.

A debt management plan could be the answer for those having to claim benefits or who do get a new job but are on lower pay or less hours.

The latest official employment figures – covering the three months to the end of June – revealed there were 140,000 redundancies in this period.

During this time female unemployment rose by 21,000 to 1.05 million, whereas the overall increase in the jobless total was 18,000.

Posted by Paul Thacker