North West region among the most pessimistic towards Britain’s financial situation

The latest Lloyds Bank Spending Power Report shows whilst consumer confidence in the country’s financial situation has improved, sentiment of people in the North West is below the national average.

Sentiment in the North West towards the country’s financial situation improved by 2 percentage points (pp) to -16% between quarter one and quarter two, but is still trailing behind the national outlook by 6pp (-10%). Those in the North West are among the most pessimistic towards the country’s financial situation with 15% feeling saying it is not good at all, compared to those in the West Midlands (10%), East of England (10%), South East (10%) and London (11%).

The North West also has significantly more people who feel negative about Britain’s employment situation than some other regions, with 17% saying it is not good at all and indicating a regional contrast with the West Midlands (13%), East Midlands (11%), East of England (12%), South West (9%), South East (10%) and London (12%). This is likely to be reflective of the unemployment rate for the North West, which stood at 6% between March and May 2015, 0.4 percentage points higher than the rest of the UK (5.6%). However, this rate has come down from 7.2% last year, suggesting grounds for optimism in future.

The consumer research shows that in Q2, over three in five (61%) did, however, say that their personal financial situation is excellent, very good or somewhat good, and three in four (75%) said that they feel their own job security is also good.

Over the first half of the year, the proportion who said they expect to be able to save more in six months’ time has dropped from almost a quarter (23% in quarter one), to less than one in five (18% in quarter two). However, the proportion in the North West who say they don’t have enough to meet their outgoings has dropped by 3% to 6% in the second quarter. This could indicate an easing of pressure on household budgets, but people still remain cautious for the future.

Claire Garrod, Head of Personal Current Accounts at Lloyds Bank, said: “Whilst feeling towards the country’s financial situation has improved over the quarter at a national level, confidence in the North West remains lower. Lower inflation and strengthening wage growth are contributing towards an improving situation but households in the North West are struggling to feel as positive about their future finances than the rest of the UK.”