It would seem that the male stereotype of never asking for help is being busted by the recession, as research from debt charity Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) has revealed that there has been a “massive increase” in the number of men seeking debt advice.
Recent statistics from the charity show that the number of men contacting CCCS for debt advice has jumped by 51% since 2007, from 146,000 to 221,000, with nearly half attributing the cause of their debt to loss of income, including redundancy and work hours being cut.
Traditionally, more women than men contact CCCS, but a combination of rising male unemployment, a slower rate of salary increases and rising household expenditure has led to a rapid escalation in the numbers of men approaching the charity for help.
In addition, despite falling debt levels and earning more than women, men are less able to repay their debts while an increasing proportion lack the means to pay for basic living costs.
Men also accumulate larger debts than women. For example, in 2007 and 2008 the average male client counselled by CCCS had almost £30,000 worth of debt. In comparison, the average female client owed around £21,000 in 2007 and just over £22,000 in 2008. In 2009 the debt gap between the two genders dropped but male clients (£26,957) still owed more than female clients (£21,915).
To make matters worse, men have seen a much higher loss of income than women during the recession. In 2007 the average income of a man counselled by CCCS was £14,508 a year, in 2008 it was £17,724 a year but in 2009 it was £17,460 a year.
Since 2007 average male income has increased by 20 percent but it actually decreased between 2008 and 2009. In the same period women’s average income has gone up by a third (32 percent) from £13,068 in 2007 to £17,292 in 2009.
This fall in income is related to increased male unemployment. Over 2009 male unemployment rose from 7.6 percent to nine percent. Almost a quarter of men counselled by CCCS in 2009 gave unemployment as the primary reason for their debt problem (22.8 percent). A further 25.8 percent said that either reduced or irregular income was responsible for their debt problems. For women unemployment was responsible for fewer debt problems: less than 16 percent of women in 2009 gave unemployment as the primary reason for their debt problems.
Commenting on the findings chairman Malcolm Hurlston said: “Men have been hard hit by the recession and are emerging as the new underclass. Debt alone is no longer the problem; it is loss of income and other rising costs. This deterioration in the economic circumstances for men, still the main breadwinner in most homes, has serious implications for many households.
“At the same time, the proposed cut backs in the public sector, traditionally a major employer of women, may well impact on their earnings as well.”
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