Thousands of families are facing increased financial hardship this autumn as figures announced this week revealed that UK unemployment grew by 81,000 during May and June.
The rise is the highest increase in UK unemployment for 16 years, leaving around 1.72m people, or 5.5% of the UK workforce unemployed and the number of job seekers allowance claimants rising by 32,000 to 904,900.
The increase has been blamed heavily on the current economic situation, particularly the slowdown in the UK housing market.
Earlier this year, several of the UK’s leading property developers announced numerous job cuts, including Barratt, Redrow, Persimmon and Bovis all preparing to lay-off staff.
The figure is also expected to rise in the coming months, following the collapse of investment bank Lehman Brothers and travel firm XL, whilst LloydsTSB (following their merger with HBOS), Northern Rock and Ford are also set to reduce their respective workforces.
That will leave even more people facing considerable hardship as their financial situation changes dramatically, combined with the current high rate of inflation. For those people, repaying any outstanding debts including mortgages, loans and credit cards looks set to become increasingly difficult.
Debt-Free offer free advice to help you get a better understanding of your finances and the options available to you should your debts begin to mount.
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