Fall in disposable income reported
More than half of Britons have seen their disposable income drop by at least a fifth so far this year, according to a survey.
Around 55% of people said their disposable income had fallen by 20% or more since January, compared with 35% who had seen a drop by this point in 2008, according to credit reference group Equifax.
Women have been most affected by income falls, with 64% reporting a drop of at least a fifth in the amount of spare money they have each month, compared with 51% of men.
Unsurprisingly, the fall in people's spare cash is limiting the amount of money they have to save, with 46% of people saying they have not saved anything so far this year, 14% more than when the same research was carried out 12 months ago.
At the same time, people's debt levels are rising, with 40% of people admitting to having more than £5,000 worth of credit card or loan debt, up from 33% in 2008.
Neil Munroe, external affairs director for Equifax, said: "As job losses continue to hit the headlines and many companies choose to freeze wages, our survey clearly shows the impact it is having on consumers."
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