UK household finances came under pressure in August, according to market researchers Markit and YouGov.
A poll of 2,000 households revealed people were increasingly worried about higher costs of living and losing their jobs while the Household Finance Index suggests people are not feeling any benefits from the growing economy.
Almost a third of participating households in the survey said their finances had got worse compared to 6% who had seen an improvement.
Nearly 69% of respondents reported a rise in the price of their goods and services in August from July, the highest level since the survey began 18 months ago.
“Stronger growth in the UK economy has done little to put a floor under the downturn in household finances”, warned Tim Moore, economist at Markit.
The survey found 86% of those polled also expected a rise in their cost of living.
Almost half of the respondents said they expected their finances to weaken even more over the coming 12 months and only a quarter felt their incomes would improve with government cutbacks and likely tax rises on the horizon.
Job security was a prime concern in the survey results, with 22% of private sector respondents reporting a drop in job security, compared to just 6% who confirmed they felt more secure in their work.
An overall depressing picture is completed by a weak housing market. Almost 23% believe their property is now worth less than before, compared with 9% who believed it had increased in August.
Mr Moore said the findings represented “a downbeat mood” which spanned across the entire household spectrum of income.
