By IRNA,
London : British families are more worried about the financial future than at any time over the last 26 years, according to the latest findings of a barometer poll on consumer confidence.
All five measures used by the monthly poll conducted by GfK NOP reveal public fears amid spiraling household bills as well as the lowest confidence about economic conditions over the next 12 months since 1982.
“With rising inflation, gloomy forecasts for interest rates and soaring fuel, utility and food prices dominating the front page headlines, it’s no surprise that confidence in the general economy is almost in freefall,” said GfK’s Rachael Joy.
“It seems unlikely that this trend will reverse in the near future,” Joy said about public confidence being the lowest since the UK was facing recession back 18 years ago.
The findings come as the Confederation of British Industry and accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers warned that ten thousand jobs in London’s financial district will be lost in the next three months.
Most of the 87 companies polled in their latest report Monday said the impact of the credit crunch on financial services firms has worsened in recent months and thought that it would take more than six months for market conditions to return to normal.
Separate reports have revealed that some of Britain’s biggest High Street stores have slashed their prices by half in a desperate attempt to shift unsold summer stock.
There were also warnings that commuters face inflation-busting increases in train fares as rail companies are hit by the economic turmoil with annual season tickets will jump hundreds of pounds.
It comes after worries that household energy bills are set to rise by a further 40 per cent this winter in addition to 15 per cent increases imposed at the beginning of the year at a time that motorists are facing record fuel prices.
Further bleak news also came from the Bank of England Monday, reporting that the number of new mortgages being approved for house purchase in Britain fell by 28 per cent in May compared with the previous month and by 64 per cent compared with a year ago.
Elsewhere, new research from life insurer Scottish Widows found that one in three Britons cannot afford to put aside any savings for their retirement in a report that suggested people are worried about how they will cope when they give up work.