Personal INSOLVENCY group warns against the rising of DEBTS among public sector workers
UNSECURED debts among emergency services workers rocketed by more than 44 per cent to nearly £16,000 per person during the course of the first quarter, according to data from Creditfix.
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The personal insolvency group said that while indebtedness among public sector workers had risen due to the squeeze on living standards from stagnant pay and inflation, police officers, firefighters and paramedics had seen the sharpest increases in their debts.
Creditfix said that the average emergency services worker with debts saw them rise from £11,043 at the start of the year to £15,961 by the end of March.
That compares to the 7.3 per cent or £764.15 increase experienced by nurses, who owed on average £11,187.09 each.
Unsecured debts among teachers rose from £12,830.96 to £13,506.31, but fell for members of the armed forces, where average debt levels fell by 15.8 per cent to £9,262.31.
Creditfix director Andy Taylor said: “It is difficult to imagine that in just three months, members of the emergency services now owe an average of almost £5,000 more. We rely on these people to be on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and it seems that, on top of their work pressures, many are struggling with crippling debts.”