LONDON: GfK Market research comapny said in its Consumer Confidence Index for the United Kingdom fell to its lowest level since records began in 1974 in May, owing to the country's simmering cost-of-living issue.
According to reports, Joe Staton, client strategy director at GfK, May's result, which is down two points from April to minus 40, is one point worse than the previous record set in July 2008, when the headline score fell to minus 39. "This means consumer confidence is now lower than it was throughout the global financial crisis, the economic impact of Brexit, or the Covid closure," he said.
According to Staton, this comes as unemployment in the UK reaches a 50-year low, with vacancies outnumbering job applicants for the first time, and inflation reaches a 40-year high, owing to rising food and fuel prices.
In the year to April 2022, the UK Consumer Price Index increased by 9.0 percent, up from 7.0 percent in March. The country's central bank predicted that inflation would grow further during the rest of the year, peaking at just over 9% in the second quarter (Q2) and averaging just over 10% in the fourth quarter (Q4).
According to the Scottish Widows Household Finance Index released in April, household savings in the UK fell at the fastest rate in nine years in the first quarter of this year, with cash availability falling at the fastest rate since the fourth quarter of 2013.
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