Mood worsens as households bear brunt of cost-of-living crisis

UK households’ concern about their finances has hit another record low as they “bear the brunt” of the costof-living crisis, according to a survey.

Confidence in household finances over the short term hit an all-time low in the monthly survey from YouGov and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) in April, dropping by six points on the previous month and a “massive” 57 points compared with April last year to 56.7.

The 12-month outlook also hit a new low, inching downwards from 49.1 to 48.3.

The study found that overall consumer confidence has fallen one point since March but 7.6 points since this time last year.

Other metrics such as house value, job security, and business activity remain stable, the survey suggests.

Households were asked how they think their financial situation will change in the next year and the survey then assigns a score based on the responses. Anything above 100 is positive, while if it falls below 100 households are expecting to be worse off.

The score was above 100 around a year ago, but has been falling in recent months.

Based on 6,000 interviews across the month, the confidence survey measures attitudes to household finances, property prices, job security and business activity.

Darren Yaxley, from YouGov, said: “With the cost-of-living crisis continuing to rumble on, this data suggests that, perhaps unsurprisingly, consumers’ household finances are bearing the brunt.