Rise in workless households to increase debt management need?

The UK has witnessed a rise in workless households, suggesting more individuals may be in need of debt management help.

According to the Economic and Labour Market Review from the Office for National Statistics, the proportion of homes in which no working-age adults were employed rose from 15.7 per cent in April to June 2007 to 17.2 per cent in the same months in 2009.

The report used data from both the Living Costs and Food Survey and the Labour Force Survey to analyse how the recent economic downturn affected the numbers of working and workless families below the state pension age, as well as how the level of household income had altered.

It discovered the number of residences wherein all adults of working-age were employed had fallen from 57.7 per cent to 54.7 per cent over the same period.

Average disposable income, however, remained constant over the two years.

When compared against previous recessions, the study showed the peak-to-trough fall in gross domestic product between quarter one of 2008 and quarter three in 2009 (6.4 per cent), to mark the deepest financial crisis since the Second World War.

Despite the depth and duration of the recent recession, the article discovered the labour market to have remained somewhat resilient, with loss of employment remaining relatively subdued.

“Reasons for this seem to include: employers entering the recession in good financial shape, firms’ cash flow being helped by rapid reductions in interest rates and fiscal stimulus,” it explained.

The Guardian recently noted debt in the UK is becoming part of everyday life after revealing the nation owed a combined total of £1,460 billion in private debt in April 2010.

By Amy White