This latest report provides insight into the demographic and debt information of new clients who first received debt advice in December 2022. It also includes the latest insights on our website traffic trends.
Our key findings from December 2022:
- StepChange provided full debt advice to 10,520 clients in December 2022. Although this is lower than November (14,277), this fall is in line with a seasonal trend, which is consistent with previous years.
- The charity saw a 20% decrease in website users between December (263,000) and November 2022 (328,000). Despite this, the emergency funding webpage saw a 15% month-on-month increase in views.
- In December 2022, the proportion of clients in council tax (34%), gas (27%), rent (21%) and mortgage (17%) arrears has increased, compared to the previous calendar month.
- Over one in five (22%) clients continue to cite a ’cost of living increase’ as their main reason for debt in December – a one percentage point increase on November (21%) 2022.
- The proportion of clients with a negative budget is up by two percentage points to 35% in December – the highest point in 2022.
- This month, StepChange advised more under 25’s (13%) and single adults without children (43%) compared to November 2022.
Take a look at the full report to find out more.