Consumer Confidence Falls To New Low

Lack of public confidence in Britain's flailing economy has more than doubled over the past year, according to new research.

Nationwide's most recent Consumer Confidence survey indicates that 53 per cent of Britons believe the economy will be in a worse position in six months time, up from 24 per cent in June 2007

Britons are also concerned about their own money, with only 16 per cent confident their wages will not stagnate or drop by the end of the year. This is over ten per cent lower than 12 months ago.

Fionnuala Earley, Nationwide's chief economist, warned that changes to the labour market should be expected, which could see swathes of consumers raiding their savings accounts to get by.

She said: "This month's drop in confidence is to be expected given the recent run of bad news. With reports of rising inflation rates, weaker economic growth and further falls in house prices, it is not surprising that people are feeling much less optimistic about the future.

"While consumers appear to be fairly relaxed about the availability of jobs, with unemployment beginning to rise, we are likely to see a change in labour market sentiment over the coming months."