More Britons worry about bigger bills

Rapidly rising inflation and wage increases that are not keeping up have led many United Kingdom residents to worry more about their finances than about the global pandemic, new research has shown.

The University College London study shows 38 percent of UK adults listed financial worries as their top concern during March, which was the largest proportion to list something other than the pandemic since March 2020.

Daisy Fancourt, the study's lead author, said the results highlight an emerging "cost of living crisis".

"This is despite the fact that the number of COVID cases, hospitalizations, and deaths remains equivalent or higher than in January 2022, meaning that the overall situation remains unchanged despite the shift in attitude," the Financial Times newspaper quoted her as saying.

People in all age groups were worried about their finances, but concern was most pronounced among those aged 30 to 59, with almost half saying money woes were their top concern.

Fancourt said people might have been worrying less about the pandemic because the government ended all virus-related restrictions on Feb 24, which signaled to many that the novel coronavirus was no longer a major worry.

But she said most people's money worries were rooted in the reality of worsening financial situations; in which energy bills skyrocketed by 54 percent during April, inflation soared to a 30-year high of 6.2 percent, the new National Insurance tax hike began, and wage rises have not kept up.

The UCL study, which was funded by the Nuffield Foundation, Wellcome, and the non-departmental public body UK Research and Innovation, was based on a survey of 29,000 people.

It concluded around half of the UK's adult population felt in control of their finances during March, which was significantly down on the two-thirds who did during October.

Additionally, new data from the Office for National Statistics, or ONS, shows a growing number of UK residents are cutting back on non-essential spending and turning down their heating.

The British Retail Consortium, or BRC, has reported that shrinking household budgets have led to sales growing during March by only 3.1 percent, which was much less than expected as the nation bounces back from pandemic-related lockdowns.

The BRC said the reduced spending was down to "shaken consumer confidence".

Helen Dickinson, the organization's chief executive, told the BBC people are facing "an enormous challenge this year" that is "likely to be reflected in retail spend in the future".

And inflation is forecast to keep rising, with it predicted to hit 8.7 percent by the end of the year.

At the same time, wages have not kept up.

The latest data from the ONS shows average earnings have gone up by 4 percent this year, which is far behind inflation which is set to jump significantly from 6.2 percent when the latest data is released this week.

That means the average worker is poorer, despite a 4 percent raise, and those getting no rise will be significantly less well off.

Darren Morgan, director of economic statistics at the ONS, told The Guardian newspaper: "Basic pay is now falling noticeably in real terms."