Personal debt figures released

Personal debt statistics for the UK have been released by Credit Action, revealing that 133 per cent of average earnings for British adults is owed.

It emerged that the total amount for the country had reached £1,459 billion by the end of November 2009, with the average household in debt – excluding mortgages – of £9,016.

However, this statistic would climb to £18,784 if it included the number of families with unsecured loans.

In addition, it was seen that Citizens Advice is dealing with some 9,300 new debt enquiries every day, with 2,093 people being made redundant every 24 hours.

Furthermore, the government’s national debt is increasing by £4,385 each second and, on a daily basis, the amount of personal interest paid in Britain is £181 million.

Meanwhile, recently published statistics from Go Compare suggest that people are increasingly concerned with their debt levels.

The company stated that 32 per cent of UK adults intend to make getting out of debt a new year’s resolution.

By Sarah Adie