The latest figures mean that the unemployment rate is now running at 6%, up from 5.8%.
Barclays Financial Planning Head of Customer and Proposition, Alison Tattersall, comments: "As we can see from today's figures, unemployment has risen in the UK to 1.86 million people. Many more people are likely to be concerned about their employment situation going into 2009, which will have a profound effect on people's financial behaviour.
"Research we conducted found that 43 per cent of people put concerns about their debts or the risk of unemployment at the top of their worry list, and half of people (50 per cent) are worried about not being able to maintain their outgoings over the next 12 months. This is clearly a concerning situation and one that is understandable given that 39 per cent of people questioned admit to having no savings at all, while a further 11 per cent have less than one month's salary in the bank as a safety net. It shows that people aren't planning their finances should the worst happen and should be seeking advice on their options.
People have high expectations when it comes to the amount of money they would need if unemployed, with 64 per cent saying they would need between £10,000 and £30,000 a year to survive. However, with little or no savings and 78 per cent of people admitting that they don't have essential safety nets like income protection policies, people need to think about how this would be possible. Of course these types of insurance products protect outcomes that people don't want to think about. But people must consider the financial consequences of what would happen if they were unable to work or were unemployed."
