Unemployment figures 'will not help consumer confidence'

People are not likely to be feeling any more confident following the publication of the country's latest unemployment figures.

That is according to uSwitch.com's director of consumer policy Ann Robinson, who suggests that this week's statistics may also cause concern among those who are already feeling a degree of financial strain.

She stated: "With the new government planning to cut the deficit, it is highly possible that public sector jobs will be at risk."

The expert went on to advise: "It really is time for consumers to batten down the hatches."

Previous research from Ms Robinson's organisation has suggested that 34 per cent of people whose spending regularly exceeds their earnings are having to get into credit card debt in order to support themselves.

At the end of this year's first quarter, 2.51 million were out of work in the UK, the Office for National Statistics confirmed earlier in the week.

Posted by Tom Burroughs.