Credit Action releases May debt statistics

Key statistics from the release, which shows month-by-month trends, include:

- CAB deal with 8,004 new debt problems each working day

- 1,392 people are made redundant daily

- 847,000 people have been unemployed for more than 12 months

- £55,870 is the average household debt (including mortgages)

- £29, 843 is the average amount owed by every UK adult (including mortgages)

- £180m is the personal interest paid in UK daily

- £24.88m is the daily write-offs of loans by banks & building societies

- Every 17 minutes a property is repossessed

- £67.90 is the amount it costs to fill a car with a 50-litre tank with unleaded petrol

- £133,200,000 is the daily increase in Government national debt (PSDN)

- £1,156,000,000 is the total value of all purchases made using plastic cards today

Joanna Parsley, Associate Director at Credit Action says:

"May's debt statistics show some interesting trends. Although the amount owed by every UK adult has fallen by approximately £30, in light of rising credit card interest rates- which at an average of 19.1% are now at the highest levels seen in 13 years- paying down debt has never been more sensible advice.

"With the cost of petrol rising still and with households experiencing the changes made last month to tax, national insurance and welfare benefits, 2011 looks set to be a year where household budgets are further squeezed."