September 1, 2022 update: This data catalog entry was first published in March 2021 and was updated in November 2021 and March 2022. In September 2022, we added three new quarters of data (Q4 2021, Q1 2022, and Q2 2022). The high-cost loan and credit-use data are usually taken as a snapshot at the end of the quarter, but for Q2 2022 the snapshot is as of the beginning, rather than the end, of June.

This dataset contains statistics presented in the "Tracking Financial Vulnerability in the UK" project. These statistics include data on six facets that capture a household’s ability to manage daily finances and resist economic shocks: (1) carrying defaulted debt, (2) claiming work-related social benefits, (3) holding a high-cost loan, (4) relying heavily on credit, (5) lacking emergency savings, and (6) using alternative financial products. These components are measured using Lowell’s research and operational data, the UK Financial Lives survey (2017 and 2020), and data from the UK’s Department for Work and Pensions and the Office for National Statistics and are available by quarter from Q3 2017 to Q2 2022.

To create the index, we linearly interpolated the data on the share without emergency savings and the share using alternative financial products for the years 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2022. We created the index by standardizing each component, weighting each component using factor analysis, and normalizing the index from 0 to 100. Details on components, their definitions, data sources, and the index methodology are available in our technical appendix.

These data are a joint project of the Urban Institute and Lowell. Urban and Lowell researchers are collaborating on all stages of the research. In addition, Lowell provides funds and operational and research data used to create the index.

Please see the technical appendix for additional details.