Job news may worsen debt problems

For those struggling in debt, it goes without saying that losing a job can only make things worse, removing the main source of income and therefore reducing or eliminating the ability of a consumer to pay off what they owe.

For those tied into deals without any insurance protection, the situation may be worse still as they will remain liable for the payments, which they could be entirely unable to make.

Such issues may apply to thousands more people than a few months ago after it was revealed today that unemployment has risen again.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the number out of work was 0.1 per cent higher in the three months to January 2011 than in the quarter before it, with the proportion of the working population in employment down by the same amount.

This could leave many in a position where they could benefit from a debt management plan, which may also apply to those losing a job but getting a new one with lower pay.

Not all the news was bad, as the actual number claiming jobseeker’s allowance fell by 10,200, but the ONS data also revealed pay rates remain below the current four per cent level of Consumer Prices Index inflation, at 2.2 per cent for basic pay and 2.3 per cent for total remuneration including bonuses.

This reduction in income could also cause problems for those in debt and the “squeeze” on UK consumers is the largest since the 1920s, Bank of England governor Mervyn King told the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee recently.

By James Francis