Criticisms have been raised, but we have looked at it ourselves, and we believe the ONS figures do a good job of measuring online sales. |
Most importantly, the rise was again driven partly by a fall in employment, of 57,000. This was the biggest drop since 1993. |
Overall, today's data lend tentative support to our view that the consumer spending slowdown has further to run. |
This rise in bad debt, alongside the recent slowdown in consumer credit, suggests that households are starting to feel the pressure of their rapid build-up of debt in recent years. |