The great COVID cash divide

Forget the North-South divide when it comes to wealth – Britain is experiencing a new Covid divide, between people on furlough and those who have carried on working.

New research by credit reference agency Equifax has found that two thirds of furloughed workers are financially worse off than before the pandemic began, compared to just one in four of those who have worked.

72% of workers who are currently furloughed said they felt secure about their finances before lockdown. However, when asked about how they feel now, only 45% feel secure – a significant drop of almost a third (27%). A further 1 in 10 (11%) also reveal they don’t think they will ever fully recover from the financial hardship suffered over the last few months.

Furloughed workers also have the highest level of concern surrounding their personal finances (79%), with 62% of full-time workers admitting they were concerned.

Aston spoke to Dan Jones, consumer editor a.k.a Mr Money at The Sun newspaper and Lisa Hardstaff, director of customer expierience at Equifax to discuss the research and also address money worries.

Photo by Colin Watts on Unsplash