''Full impact'' of downturn not yet felt, survey suggests

The economic downturn could catch many Britons by surprise, new figures from Fool.co.uk have shown.

According to the report, 70 per cent of adults have less than 20 per cent of their monthly income left over after their expenses have been met.

Worse still, one in seven have no money at all to spare.

This could leave many exposed when the economic downturn hits – especially as unemployment is predicted by analysts to rise by 200,000 by the end of the year.

David Kuo, head of personal finance at the website, commented: "We are only in the early stages of a recession so we have yet to feel the full impact of the economic downturn. Consequently, it is important to tackle our finances head on now before it is too late to do anything about it.

"Ensuring that we can survive on less than four-fifths of our current income is vital. If you lose your present job through redundancy, your next job could pay precisely that – less than four-fifths of what you now earn."

Government GDP figures released today show that the economy shrunk by 0.5 per cent over the last quarter.

This is the first fall measured on the survey since the early 1990s.