The research shows that 19% of employees believe redundancy is ‘somewhat’ or ‘very’ likely in 2013.
High earners also view unemployment as a realistic prospect in 2013 as over one in six (17%) of those earning over £50,000 a year think it is likely they will be made redundant this year.
Stephen Harmston, head of SixthSense at YouGov, said: “It looks as though the downbeat economic news of the past few months will set the pattern for consumer confidence throughout 2013.
“That a fifth of people are worried about losing their jobs in the next year shows how fragile the economic situation is.
“The fear of redundancy depresses consumers’ desire to spend on non-essential items which in turn makes it more likely that people will lose their jobs.”
YouGov’s research comes as concerns about unemployment are on the minds of British households when looking at their economic prospects for the coming year.
Three in ten (30%) UK workers have seen colleagues laid off in the last year and one in five (20%) rank unemployment as a ‘major threat’ to the British economy over the next twelve months.
The HEAT research also shows that UK households began 2013 in a downcast mood with the HEAT index remaining at 94.5 in January, unchanged from December.
The reading below 100 suggests that the situation for UK households remains challenging with more 42% saying they think they will be in a more difficult financial situation at the end of 2013 than at the beginning.
