LONDON, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Household unsecured debt in Britain exceeded 400 billion pounds (about 522.8 billion U.S. dollars) for the first time in the third quarter of 2019, well above its 286-billion-pound (373.8-billion-dollar) peak in 2008 ahead of the financial crisis, said the Trades Union Congress (TUC) Friday in a report.
Unsecured debt per household rose to 14,540 pounds (19,003.3 dollars) in the same period, 31 percent above its peak before the financial crisis, said the report. Unprotected by a guarantor like a mortgage or a car repayment, unsecured debt, such as bank and student loans, payday loans, credit and store cards, is considered more precarious.
In its report, the TUC blames the record-high increase on government austerity, the rise of insecure work and years of wage stagnation.
Calling for an urgent government plan to improve living standards, the TUC recommends the government to end austerity with a nation-wide investment plan, raise the minimum wage and ban zero-hour contract, among others.
