The Growing Debt Problem for under 25's in the UK
Not at any time since the last major economic recession of the
1990's have so many people in the UK suffered so much with debt
problems. Although the principal underlying economic factors
look good on the surface, a closer inspection of the statistics
reveals a structural debt problem in the UK, manifested by the
total amount of personal debt exceeding the trillion pound mark
in July 2004.
Previous cycles of economic decline have seen a combination of
high interest rates and unemployment; affecting mortgage holders
especially. This time around, however, 18 to 25 year olds are
reporting difficulties with repaying their credit card debts and
other personal loans.
According to the UK charity, the Consumer Credit Counselling
Service (CCCS), there has been a rapid rise in the percentage of
18 to 25 year olds reporting with debt liability problems,
doubling from 6% to 13% since 2002. The CCCS reported that the
average amount of money owed by under-25's who contacted them
has gone up from