Insolvency levels rise for young women

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Increasing Insolvency levels for young women

Young Women in the UK represented the majority of insolvency cases the UK last year, according to research conducted by Insolvency firm Moore Stephens.

In 2015, around 65% of personal insolvency cases for under 25s and 57% of insolvencies among 25-34 year old were also women.

Some experts have suggested that a gender pay gap could be the main contributor whilst others point to changes in society as a whole.

It is stated that women in the UK earn on average around 18% less than men. Yet they still have the same daily expenses.

“Whilst fewer women are becoming insolvent overall as unemployment and interest rates stay low, they are making up a markedly higher percentage of insolvencies than men,” commented Jeremy Willmont, Head of Insolvency at Moore Stephens.

“With lower wages and higher expenses, some young women are more likely to find themselves insolvent than young men,” he added.

Changes in society have produced far more female orientated advertising campaigns. Women are far more likely to be targeted by Designer and luxury goods companies with the latest ‘must have’ accessories.

This increased pressure to keep up with the latest trends would suggest an increase by women in consumer spending.

“Women are also a particular target for payday lenders, who have been criticised in the past for encouraging women to take out high interest loans in order to pay for luxuries they otherwise couldn’t afford,” Willmont said.

However, Willmont added that these figures could even up in the future as more lifestyle products are marketed at young men.

Moore Stephens referenced recent ONS figures which claimed that 1 in 3 young males still live with parents compared to 1 in 5 young females.

There us also the consideration that there is a higher number of young single parents which predominantly are female.

“Rental and house price inflation has been particularly aggressive over the last few years. As young women are more likely to rent than young men, they are seeing ever greater chunks of their income swallowed up by accommodation costs,” Willmont added.

Last year, rents rose 18% in Bristol and Brighton, 16% in Newcastle and Edinburgh, and 11% in London, while house prices rose 8.1% in the year to the end of May 2016.

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