Due to high costs

Debt counselors: Citizens are running out of money!

More and more people are no longer able to make ends meet.(Bild: Adobe Stock)

Debt counseling services experienced a real rush last year. Increased living and housing costs as well as unemployment caused almost 22,000 people to contact a debt counseling service for the first time in 2023. This is an increase of almost 17 percent compared to the previous year.

The last time there were similarly high figures was twelve years ago. The number of private bankruptcies opened also rose sharply in the previous year.

Around twelve percent of clients cited increased costs, over which they have no influence, as the reason that led them into over-indebtedness, according to a statement from the debt counseling services on Wednesday. In the past, this had hardly played a role as a cause of over-indebtedness.

Unemployment as a driver of poverty
For years, the most common reason for over-indebtedness has been unemployment and the associated loss of income. "If you become unemployed, you only have 55% of your previous income at your disposal. This is a problem for the vast majority of people," said Clemens Mitterlehner, Managing Director of ASB Schuldnerberatungen GmbH, the umbrella organization for state-approved debt advice services in Austria.

Wanting to reduce unemployment benefit even further, as demanded by ÖVP leader and Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP), is a slap in the face for the people affected, said Mitterlehner. The debt counseling services are calling for an increase in unemployment benefits to 70 percent.

You have to be able to afford personal bankruptcy
There was an eight percent increase in the number of personal bankruptcies opened last year to almost 9,000. "We know that many more people would need a personal bankruptcy," said Mitterlehner. However, you have to be able to afford personal bankruptcy. The basic prerequisite for this is being able to make ends meet and not incur any further debts.

From the point of view of debt counselors, there is an urgent need to increase the minimum subsistence level, i.e. the amount that people have to live on in the event of seizure.