According to a study carried out by the Trades Union Congress (TUC), UK average household debt is now higher than during the 2008 financial crisis.
Average household debt is currently 31% above its peak before the financial crisis, the TUC said.
The study revealed that unsecured household debt rose to £14,540 during the third quarter of 2019, representing a rise of £430 when compared to the same period in 2018. Total unsecured debt increased to £407 billion in the third quarter of 2019.
The TUC believes the key reasons for weaknesses in wages are a low minimum wage, job insecurity, slow wage growth and a decade of austerity. It has called for the National Minimum Wage (NMW) to be raised to £10 an hour ‘as quickly as possible’; a ban on zero-hour contracts; stronger work rights for insecure workers; and an investment plan to ‘boost growth across the nation’.
‘The reason we’re seeing this is bad management of the economy,’ said Frances O’Grady, General Secretary of the TUC.
‘Wages are still worth less than a decade ago. Too many people have insecure jobs with uncertain hours.
‘No more excuses – the government must put together an urgent plan to improve living standards and to help families struggling with dangerous levels of debt.’ [1]
[1] Reproduced from the TUC