Figures released today (Monday 13 January) by the Trade Union Congress show that as many as one in six workers in Britain are skipping meals to make ends meet as households remain under pressure from the higher cost of groceries, energy and other essentials.
According to a survey of more than 2,500 working adults by YouGov in the week before Christmas, carried out on behalf of the trade unions’ umbrella group, as many as one in 10 said they had skipped a meal every day or most days and 17% of full- or part-time workers had skipped a meal to reduce their spending in the past three months.
The TUC said real wages had grown by only 0.3% a year under the Conservatives, compared with 1.5% from 1997 to 2010 (the Blair/Brown years). At the same time, in-work poverty rose sharply, while the number of people in insecure jobs soared by 1 million between 2011 and 2023 to 4.1 million.
In separate figures, The Post Office said separately that cash withdrawals at its branches topped £1bn in December, the first time on record that this has happened in a single month (if you exclude what the Horizon system showed one wonders), as people relied on cash to manage budgets. About £979m of personal cash withdrawals were made, and £35m of business cash withdrawals.
“Our figures demonstrate that millions of people clearly still rely on cash to manage their budget on a day-to-day basis,” said Ross Borkett, Post Office banking director.“We saw significant amounts of cash withdrawn every day in the run-up to Christmas Day, highlighting just how vital it is for people to be able to withdraw the amount of cash that they need, to the penny if they require, at our branches.” When you can find one that is…
If you are the parent of a teenager reading this, I imagine you fay fear that your child will still be living with you in 10 years’ time. Unfortunately, the fear has some truth to it.
The proportion of 25 to 34-year-olds still living with their parents has increased by more than a third in nearly two decades, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). The living at home trend has been driven by men, and those in their late 20s, researchers found.
In 2006, some 13% of people in the UK aged between 25 and 34 were living with their parents. By last year, that had increased to 18%, according to the IFS - an independent economic think-tank. That equates to about 450,000 more young adults still living in the family home - with the increase concentrated on those in their late 20s, researchers found. Of 25 to 34-year-olds, men were more likely than women to be living at home, at 23% compared with 15%.
Fears are also affecting personal finances in the US. Tablets and appliances made in China, hybrid cars built in Canada, European wine are all being seeing a rise in sales as Donald Trump’s second inauguration as president quickly approaches and we cryptically mentioned at the end of Friday’s newsroom report.
Americans are stocking up on goods in anticipation of tariffs Trump plans to place on imports, according to a Guardian reader poll. Since the election, Trump has promised to immediately impose a 25% tariff on Mexican and Canadian imports, along with increasing existing tariffs on Chinese imports by 10%. On the campaign trail, Trump said he would put tariffs of 10% to 20% on all imports.
In a November Harris/Guardian poll, nearly half (44%) of respondents said they were planning purchases before Trump entering office, while nearly two-thirds (62%) said they were at least adjusting their financial plans for next year. Many readers said they made major electronics purchases in anticipation of new tariffs against China. According to the Consumer Technology Association, a 60% tariff on Chinese imports could push up prices for laptops and tablets by 46% and smartphones by 26%.
