The Bank of England discover that UK household finances are under strain

How are UK households coping with the fallout of the financial crisis? Staff at the Bank of England recently tackled this question with a survey of households. So, what did they find out?

Like all good social science researchers, they discovered the obvious:

• While the UK economy has recovered, households’ financial positions remain under strain.

• Elevated unemployment, weak earnings growth and restricted credit availability still pose a problem for some households. Low interest rates have helped borrowers.

However, there were some rather more interesting observations.

• The burden of unsecured debt was higher than in the past and concerns about debt levels had increased, leading some to save more in order to reduce indebtedness.

• Households’ awareness of the coalition's fiscal consolidation measures was quite high.

Finally, Bank of England researchers discovered were concerned about the impact on their finances, although the majority had yet to take any action in response.

That sounds familiar, doesn't it?