Rise in the number of young people seeking personal help

The latest UK Personal Debt Index (PDI) has found that the number of young people seeking help with personal debt rose by +7.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2017. Individuals aged between 20 and 25 accounted for over one in ten of those undertaking support for their personal finances in the first three months of the year.

The PDI is compiled quarterly by Creditfix, following a survey of over 36,000 individuals. Quarter 1 delivered the second consecutive quarter where the average level of personal un-secured debt increased, rising +2.96 per cent to £15,081.

The quarterly report also tracks the number of people seeking help for debt in key cities across the UK. Edinburgh had the biggest rise in Quarter 1, with a +12.5 per cent increase compared to Quarter 4 2016. Liverpool and Manchester were identified as having the biggest fall, with drops of -30.61 per cent and -22.22 per cent.

Pearse Flynn, CEO of Creditfix said “Christmas can be an expensive time of the year, and the extra spending throughout November and December seems to have impacted heavily on young people’s finances in particular,”

“There is a lot of pressure to spend during the festive period – presents, staff parties, meals out, New Year’s Eve, it can really start to mount up in terms of cost. A lot of people may also put back seeking support until Christmas is out of the way, taking the positive approach to take control of their finances in the New Year.”

The PDI also reported an increase in the number of people seeking help who currently rent their properties as opposed to owning them, up +1.44 per cent on the previous quarter.

“The PDI is an important report that allows us to track and understand the demographics and locations of people suffering with their personal finances. Any increase in the number of people seeking help shouldn’t necessarily be associated as a negative factor. There are thousands of people quietly suffering with debt, facing these issues and tackling them head on is always the best course of action.”

Data:	Q1 2017	Q4 2016
Property OwnedRented	7.01% 92.99%	8.5% 91.5%
Marital status Civil Partnership	0.00%	0.05%
Cohabiting	13.6%	13.5%
Divorced	5.2%	5.5%
Married	19.6%	18.8%
Separated	6.7%	6.7%
Single	53.3%	54.2%
Widowed	1.4%	1.4%
Debt was hidden from spouse	1.79%	1.1%
Salary Average salary	£14,384	£14,172
Unsecured debt Total per person	£15,081	£14,648
Age 20 – 2526 – 35 36 – 45 46 – 55 56 – 65 66+	10.3% 33.9% 27.2% 19.2% 6.7% 2.7%	2.5% 35.7% 30.7% 20.4% 7.5% 3.3%

 

City (Quarter 1 2017 v Quarter 4 2016)
Glasgow	-9.27%
London	-21.53%
Manchester	-22.22%
Edinburgh	+12.50%
Newcastle	-20.87%
Leeds	-18.46%
Sheffield	-3.51%
Bristol	-4.71%
Birmingham	-16.36%
Cardiff	-18.45%
Liverpool	-30.61%
Nottingham	-21.37%
Swansea	-22.22%