Family budgets stretched to limit
Falling household spending revealed in new figures on the economy show how stretched family budgets have become.
With tax rises and spending cuts taking effect, the first quarter of 2010 saw a 0.1% decline after a 0.6% rise in the last three months of 2009.
Rising VAT has piled pressure on household spending, sparking fears of a "double-dip" recession in consumer spending if the pattern continues in the second quarter.
The biggest cuts made by families in the first quarter were in transport, as well as recreation and leisure activities such as hotels and restaurants.
By far the biggest increase in expenditure came on clothing and footwear - 3.5% ahead of the previous quarter - as households spent their cash on essentials to weather a cold winter.
The amount of money put aside by households edged down from 7.2% to 6.9% as wage growth failed to keep up with inflation, while salaries rose 1.2% quarter on quarter.
Vicky Redwood, senior UK economist at Capital Economics, warned: "Next year is when it will really start to hurt, with a VAT rise to 20%, National Insurance going up, benefit cuts as well as public sector pay freezes and job losses."
Copyright © Press Association 2010
All articles are copyright The Press Association 2010. News articles provided by The Press Association for Family Investments. Whilst every care it taken to ensure accuracy of editorial content, Family Investments takes no responsibility for any errors or omissions. The views expressed in these articles are not necessarily those of Family Investments.