UK Job Market and Inflation Causing Problems in Consumer Households

New research shows that things are not looking too great in the United Kingdom right now in terms of job opportunity for those who are looking and stability for those who are already employed. Research has come from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, known as CIPD for short, that shows an economic recovery from the private sector alone is going to be tough. The issue stems from the fact that major losses in jobs in the public sector has put too much pressure on the private sector. The Government is being questioned by experts who decry this move and the effects it appears to be having.

Manufacturing confidence is sinking rapidly and this is hurting the labour market, as well as showing up in terms of an economic divide between the North and South in terms of jobs. In addition to this, more major employers are looking to reduce their workforce – something that is not good news for many in the UK right now. A survey showed that most employers are planing to fire, not hire, workers in the coming 3rd Quarter. Over the coming year, even more cuts are what companies are looking to make and this is information comes from a survey which had a sample size of over a thousand employers to work from.

As companies continue to tighten up their budgets, consumers feel the pinch on their household budgets. Debts rising at the national level mean more public sector cuts and then, in addition, is the slowed growth of the UK economy in general paired up with rising inflation. None of this bodes well for those that are trying to keep themselves afloat at this time. This is leading many to seek out debt solutions so that they are not caught in a financial landslide should things get worse with the economy in the future, as predicted now.

Those looking to find the right solution for their own personal debts should consider the links on this site. Often, a solution is easier to find than one might have imagined. Today there are a variety of options. Explore the opportunities and you may well find that getting out of debt and keeping your life straight at the same time is easier than you thought.

Troubling Statistics for UK Personal Debt Unveiled Yet Again

The United Kingdom has been struggling to keep debts manageable at the consumer level for some time, but many factors appear to be making it difficult for the average person to dodge debts. Recent statistics have been put together by Credit Action, and these show that the average debt per household in the UK today stands at over £55,800. This figure does include mortgages as part of personal debts and is shocking to see, particularly since it has been shown that at the end of June 2011, the total personal debts owed in the UK stood at over £1.45 billion.

Why is this figure so shocking? Analysts say that this level of debt is comparable with entire output of the UK economy between the 2nd Quarter of 2010 and the 1st Quarter of 2011. While the overall levels of debts owed by consumers has actually slid by nearly £6 billion over the past year or so, financial experts say that the reason for this decline is actually IVAs (Individual Voluntary Arrangements) and similarly formal debt solutions. This shows that these solutions have helped to write off a massive amount of consumer debt, something that offers a real glimmer of hope to those still struggling with debts in the UK right now.

The statistics for those struggling in the UK today are truly staggering. The Citizens Advice Bureau is sawmped by requests for help with more than 9,000 requests made each day. This means that every 5 minutes a new consumer is declared either bankrupt or insolvent – not a pretty picture for the UK economy by any means.

Some critics have said that it should be noted that figures for bankruptcies have actually been in decline. Analysts, however, are quick to point out that this could be due to the fact that a bankruptcy costs £700 as opposed to the £100 it cost in the past. Instead, many people are finding an IVA to be the solution which can meet their needs, with over 12,000 IVA’s being made in 1st Quarter of this year alone.

The Office of Budget Responsibility has also stated that they believe debts in UK households are going to increase. In fact, by the conclusion of 2015 the OBR predicts that household debt will have hit well over £2.1 billion, a figure that means average debt per household would be over £80,000. In addition, with the UK growing at a rate of over 1,200 new citizens per day through 2021, the economy will be dramatically affected, making it all the more important for consumers to get their finances straightened now.

Credit cards, unsecured personal loans and finance deals for cars or stores are a prime culprit for debt today. If you need help, please explore this site for links to services that can help you. There is no reason to go it alone when expert debt assistance is available and proven to help people get back their financial security and their peace of mind.

UK Premier Furious Over Weak Promises Made To Prop Up Debt Riddled EU

Prime Minister David Cameron yesterday asked that European Union leaders fix their debt mess immediately in order to avoid what he foresees as an impending economic tragedy.

The UK Government leader called the German Prime Minister to press her on delivering promises her government made to prop up the EU’s needy countries.

Cameron’s irate reaction seems to have been triggered by the tumbling stock markets around the world this week.

The London FTSE lost almost three per cent this week and this equates to around 10% of the UK’s top companies value being wiped out. The damage looks to be £164 billion, according to analysts familiar with the market with these companies.

This is the largest dip since Lehman Brothers collapsed in 2008 causing the worst crash in the history of the UK.

The UK Prime Minister is angry because European leaders created a rescue package for the Euro currency, then decided that their summer holidays were more important than staying behind to ensure that it was properly implemented.

The European debt issue, and the fact that the United States has dented its impeccable credit rating, has caused the stock market chaos felt around the world today.

David Cameron is on holiday in Tuscany and made his angry demands from his holiday home there. He was also supported in what he said by his chancellor George Osborne who is also on holiday in the US state of California

Cameron was in contact with the French chancellor, urging him to put the recovery plan in to action as quickly as possible.

The UK government are extremely concerned because it is looking increasingly more likely that Spain and Italy are going to default on their debt repayments, as well.

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi has finally relented and made public that he is calling for an emergency meeting of the G7 and is determined to address Italy’s debt problems.

US President Barack Obama tried to sound confident when he said “we will beat this” and made his promise to the American people that things will get better in the global economy.

World traders are not convinced by any of this latest news that there will soon be an upturn and this is causing very unstable market trends which could be devastating to world economies.

Over 3 Million British Households Facing Financial Troubles

The media in the United Kingdom is abuzz with the news that a recent release of research points to tough times for nearly one tenth of the nation’s entire population. According to this research from a trusted group that keeps tabs on British households, pressure is mounting and nearly 3 million are vulnerable beyond the 3 million who are already in trouble. This includes over 1 million people who are finding it tough to make their mortgage payments.

Of the homes surveyed, more than 3 million are 3 or more months behind in their debt repayments or have a type of debt action being taken against them already. Nearly this same figure of people are currently battling to keep up with their household bills because costs have been rising in the past year. Those who earn around £13,000 tend to have a significant portion of debt that is typically unsecured and almost twenty percent higher than their yearly earnings. This is far higher than those who earn two or three times as much per year who have just over 90% of their income in the form of current unsecured debts. Unfortunately, those that are in the most vulnerable group with over 120% of their incomes in debts are also the same group that are receiving benefits.

The biggest factor, say many UK economists, is the fact that those who earn the least experienced a drop income of nearly 6% over the past 5 years. This might seem small, but in these lower earning brackets, the impact is immense and leaves no room at the end of the month for those that are struggling. Fuel costs are one of the biggest contributors to this problem with a nearly 15% rise in costs just for electric and gas bills shooting up by almost 20% in the next 5 years according to analyst outlooks. If this sharp of a rise does happen, these citizens would be hard pressed to free themselves from debt to move forward with their financial lives.

Those that own homes, too, are struggling this year and with interest rates socking them for higher payments, particularly at the annual level. This is restricting the market by having fewer households eligible to own a home at all. When unsecured debts enter the picture, many households, even those that earn well, have precious little left over each month.

Debt struggles in the UK are certainly nothing new. If you are struggling with debts yourself, we invite you to peruse the links on this site which has been created as a neutral source to services that can help. Getting out of debt is always possible, it is simply a matter of choosing the right solution for your situation.

Britain’s Debt Spreads Out to Over £135,000 Per Household

It turns out that, according to the United Kingdom’s Office for National Statistics, the country’s debt is far worse than what might have been thought in the past. The new figures show that for every household in the UK, there is a pile of more than £33,000 in debt towards the public sector’s total of £876 billion. The total amount of debt in Britain right now works out to over £138,300 per household, as well, when the private sector’s debt is included in those figures. This staggering debt load is far more than had first been estimated by analysts.

The Government continues to push for further spending cuts, much to the dismay of many, and with bank rescues to he tune of more than £2,250 billion, Banks such as Bradford & Bingley, Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking Group and Northern Rock are all a bit on the unpopular side with critics of the rescues. Since 2008, these banks have been bailed out and some groups say that they could possibly have received a ‘real figure’ that is more than £1,000 billion more. With thousands of billions of pounds going to save banks while those at the bottom are struggling to merely keep their mortgages paid, public outrage is bound to occur say consumer financial advisors.

With the debt standing at more than 240 percent of the entire economic output of the UK right now, things definitely do look dire. Brooks Newmark, a Tory MP, has spoken out about the extent of the debt, even going so far as to help create a report that reveals the truth of the situation. False accounting is what Newmark is hoping to avoid, an economic catastrophe on the level of the American company Enron that wreaked so much havoc across the pond towards the beginning of the last decade. Britain also wishes to avoid situations similar to those happening in Portugal, Greece and other parts of the world today.

With this happening at the national level, it is no wonder that many British citizens face incredible debts of their own. If you are looking for help in finding a government backed scheme that might assist you or you would like help with debts, we encourage you to explore this site to find companies we have featured. Our purpose is to provide information in a neutral way so you can make the best decision for yourself, but you should know that help is out there.

Gas Prices Set to Rise in UK Making Life More Expensive

British citizens are getting some rather confused messages via the media these days, ill set against a backdrop of heavy consumer debt. It turns out, there is a gas glut that leading experts predict will be in place for quite some time to come. According to the Energy Networks Association and the International Energy Agency, the next decade will see vast amounts of gas available for consumption. However, a brief look at the bills of the Scottish and Southern Energy or British Gas customer bills shows that the cost of this gas has actually risen by between 7 and 9 percent, confusing a great number of customers.

With many suffering debts from past credit splurges, or simply due to the economy’s rising prices, and looking to debt management as a way to get by, this could set those trying to regain financial ground back even further. Advocates say forging ahead is crucial in the elimination of debts, but these rising basic costs are certainly a puzzling and disappointing revelation for many.

What folks in the United Kingdom are struggling with understanding is due to the way the news about excess gas supplies is presented to them. Tighter supply originating from Europe is being combined with an abundance of the substance being brought over from the United States. Since Britain continues to turn to the North Sea for approximately thirty percent of its gas supply and nearly fifty percent from the European pipeline, that leaves only fifteen percent to come in via cargo ships from the US.

This, combined with the fact that liquefied natural gas, or LNG, being shipped from Middle Eastern nations like Qatar has experienced problems compounds the issue. In addition, a great deal of LNG ends up heading to Asia because customers there are willing to pay more than those in the UK. Demand has spiked following the global recession, as well. All of these factors have lead to an upswing in UK gas prices that has surged by more than 25 percent in 2010 alone.

This week, the station at Isle of Grain will receive the very first shipment of LNG from the US and that puts the National Grid in good shape, say economists. Even with the issues, the prices of wholesale gas should be falling, but energy suppliers have proven loathe to lower their prices, despite the fact that they are quick to raise them whenever possible. However, even wholesale prices are lower so the rise in what consumers pay is troubling to analysts who say that they should not need to pay as much as during far more severe price increases.

A lack of transparency in how gas suppliers get their gas and what they pay for those supplies is considered to be part of the reason the companies seemingly are able to raise consumer prices when many are hurting as they continue to lower their own prices. More word is expected to come on this issue as journalists continue to investigate a real crunch on British citizens from the gas utilities.

Many Enraged by Plan to Force Work for Welfare

Recent plans have been unveiled that would be designed to force people who have been unemployed for a long period of time to do manual labour for which they would not be paid. The welfare campaigners of Scotland were quick to condemn the plan, citing outrage at its purpose with so many in Scotland already facing stiff debts and Trust Deeds being the primary way many are able to overcome such situations in a fair way. This plan, say campaigners, is flat out unfair to both those working to repay their debts and those unable to find work who would not be paid for their labour.

Those opposed to the pan have stated clearly that it would essentially harness the labour of the poor to fix an economic crisis that they did not help to create. Iain Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary, intends this week to reveal the compulsory work programmes which last 4 weeks and involve tasks such as gardening and picking up debris. These tasks will be for those without jobs who have been judged to be lacking in work ethic.

Danny Alexander, Smith’s colleague in the Cabinet, also stated that the Work Activity placements would be used against those claimants who did not take full advantage of employment seeking support and wielded as a sanction. Opponents of the plan, some 40 organisations such as Children 1st, Oxfam, Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, Scottish Churches and others allied under the Scottish Campaign for Welfare Reform, have cited that these plans will make it even more difficult for those sanctioned to find actual jobs.

According to the Child Poverty Action Group’s John Dickie, the problem with the proposed plan is that it does not treat people with dignity and fails to help them find a way towards work that will actually pay them. As it involves punishing them it is distracting from the problem that Dickie says is actually at the heart of what the plan is a reaction to: a lack of jobs that can sustain an individual, much less a family. Without child care available and with widespread discrimination, the real jobs with real wages are just not so easy to find as those who support the plan are claiming, say critics.

Critics also cited the jobs as violation of minimum wage legislation and went on to say that making people work for 30 hours or more while not getting paid was essentially insult to injury and would perpetuate the problem. Smith’s approach is to have people experience the habits and routines of working life that he believes they have forgotten about. Thousands of claimants would be targeted for this 30 hour work week because they are believed to be fine with not working or are suspected of having a job they do not declare. Those who fail to comply would lose their £65 per week Jobseeker’s Allowance for 3 straight months.

Smith was quoted as saying that those in the programme would need to understand the message that they need to ‘play ball or it’s going to get difficult’. Critics argue that the plan fails to see that it is lack of jobs which pay enough to help people survive which are the issue as opposed to a lack of work ethic.

Bank of England Holds Rates and Follows US Example

Recent news from Chancellor George Osbourne has revealed that the Bank of England in the United Kingdom will follow the example of the United States’ Federal Reserve, emulating that central bank’s plan to inject more cash into its national economy if the economy gets unstable once again. Due to the fact that the BoE has said it will keep interest rated at just half a percent for now and not print money, the value of the pound shot up in the global currencies markets.

Still, Osbourne left many analysts believing that he plans another round of QE, the term for quantitative easing. In an address to the Commons Treasury Select Committee, Osbourne shared that his economic policy making principle is derived from the Bank’s strong fiscal policy that gives monetary policy a greater level of flexibility.

As for an alleged Plan B, in case the UK economy does begin to stall more widely than just the housing market, Osbourne pledged to allow the Bank’s committee on monetary policy to do what they deem necessary to save the economy. Last year alone, the BoE injected £200 billion into the economy by way of QE, but that programme ended some time ago. Critics claim that for all the money spent, very little of it has made an impact on those at the bottom of the British economy who continue to struggle with heavy debts, more economic restrictions, higher cost of housing, tougher financing and a lack of jobs.

These QE programmes typically mean that the BoE buys UK government stocks from investors that hold them, paying those investors in cash. That then puts new funds into money markets in which banks lend to one another. This could be why the average British citizen is seeing precious little in terms of meaningful effects of QE. Economists on the other side of the fence note that these types of programmes are long term investments and could take years to pay off.

This move by the UK closely follows what happened days ago in the US when that country’s Federal Reserve bank decided to inject more than £370 billion into its own economy due to the fact that America is currently seen as being in a ‘jobless recovery’. That translates to US citizens facing similar struggles to those taking place by the average consumer in the UK.

On word of Osbourne’s announcement, the value of the pound shot up to $1.6263, a full 1% higher and the highest level seen since January of 2010. In addition, the economy does seem to be rebounding with increases in service sectors, manufacturing industries and exporting of goods. Housing prices, as well, are on the way up once again.

Property Market in UK Taking Dreaded Second Dip

It has been feared for the past several months in the United Kingdom and now it appears to have arrived, that much feared ‘double dip’ of the housing market. Economists have spoken up to say that despite some of the lowest mortgage rates in decades, lending for new houses has dropped to 10% of what was seen in August of 2010 when over £1.6 billion in net lending was done. For the month of September, only a shocking £112 million in mortgages went on and both of these figures are after repayments and redemptions have been subtracted from the lending totals, according to the Bank of England.

Since many consumers are currently facing steep debt, experts are not entirely caught off guard by the new figures. However, it must be said that in the upcoming months, banks intend to implement conditions for good mortgage deals that require those who want the best mortgages to have sizable deposits with that bank. This could drive lending down further, but the banks intend it as a way to stabilize the lending market. Since this trend is set to be long term, according to economists, many consumers in debt are being advised to seek out debt management plans if they want to work their way out of their debt so that their credit can be in good enough shape to eventually be eligible for a mortgage in this new economy.

One economic adviser, Nida Ali, who works for the Ernst & Young ITEM Club went so far as to suggest that the demand for housing keeps going down because those in the UK who are willing to buy are having trouble finding the proper financing to allow them to purchase a home. This, Ali said, along with the fact that more people are beginning to put properties up for sale means that there is a glut of housing with few available buyers which, of course, creates the perfect conditions for this storied double dip. Since the labour market is not looking as if it will be inclined to support an upswing, the dip is set to last quite a bit longer than it otherwise might. In fact, some economists are going so far as to forecast this housing market downturn will keep on rolling through the end of 2011, at least.

The BoE has shown that mortgages being approved by banks are actually down yet again for the 5th month in a row. They now stand at just under 47,500 which is the lowest they have been since February. To top things off, the prices for houses have dropped by an amount even larger than the average UK citizen’s salary. Across Britain, the prices have gone down by 0.7% in September which is just under £2,400 in value lost in the month of September alone per house.

Combined with the fact that the average home price is still out of the reach of many Britons at £164,381 things are not looking good for housing and all of the markets tied in with it right now.

British Homeowners Finding More Value in Debt Repayment Than Savings

Presently, good loan rates are helping to make it easier for home owners in the United Kingdom to pay off their mortgages so many are using this chance to try to pay down debts instead of saving. This may seem odd to some, but UK consumer financial experts show that for those consumers attacking their debt prior to instituting savings programmes for themselves, the amount they save that would otherwise go to pay off the debt works out to more than what they would have earned from a building society or bank savings account. The reason, experts say, is the different in interest rates between both of these activities.

The figures released yesterday by the Bank of England show that, for banks, net lending was down hugely. While August 2010 saw a difference to the tune of £1.6 billion, September 2010 showed just £112 million – a mere 10 per cent of the previous month. Figures released by the British Bankers’ Association go on to show that banks lent slightly more on mortgages, in terms of actual money lent, with September showing £4.6 billion lent compared to the £4.4 billion for August.

Homeowners also repaid their building societies across the UK more than £12 million than they were lent, as a group, for September 2010. In all, since the beginning of the year, September has had the highest repayment amount, a whopping £2.8 billion repaid.

Since mortgage rates are lower than they have been in decades, economists say that it makes sense UK consumers would want to pay down their mortgage debts rather than waiting for the lengthy accruing of interest in savings accounts which typically earn very small percentages of interest back. Some analysts, however, point out that in order to really get back on track, banks still need to lend more to encourage the housing market to rebound and, along with it, all of the retail sectors such as home furnishings and insurance, which help bolster the British economy.