UK households face biggest decline in available cash for eight years
UK households are feeling the pinch as energy bills soar, the cost of living rises and Covid-19 restrictions continue to impact business.
Spiralling inflation has hit savings and led to the steepest decline in cash availability since the start of 2014 according to research by UK insurer Scottish Widows.
The research included a poll of 1,500 individuals, conducted by Ipsos Mori and IHS Markit, which found that household savings and disposable income declined at their fastest rate for over seven years at the end of 2021.
The data further revealed that with available cash on the decline households’ overall perceptions of financial wellbeing fell from 44 in the third quarter to 40.1 in the final quarter of 2021, the lowest rating since the second quarter of 2020 when Covid-19 first wrecked havoc on the UK economy. A figure above 50 signals an improvement as opposed to a decline, signalling that the public mood is pessimistic.
Rising costs show no sign of abating with inflation among the world’s top economies at its highest level in 25 years according to figures released yesterday.
The cost of living scaled to 5.8 per cent in November on an annual basis across countries that make up the Organisations for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In the UK the cost of living has been on the up since the country emerged from Covid-19 restrictions last Spring, reaching its highest level in over a decade in November at 5.1 per cent.
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