According to Quick Loans, the number of public sector workers applying for its loans has quadrupled since 2011, and the average loan taken out has also risen since then.
The average loan rose from £1,152 to £1,487, and there were eight times as many teachers applying for Quick Loans’ loans as there were in 2011. Only 4,958 teachers applied back then, but in 2014 this figure rose to 51,536. So far this year, 34,452 teachers have applied.
The number of council workers applying was five times higher than in 2011, when 7,563 applied. From January to September 2015 there have been 33,856.
Members of the armed forces represented the third highest group applying, having risen from 7,523 to 31,411 so far this year.
Other worker groups in the top ten this year for loan applications include the police, NHS, construction workers, students, apprentices, retail workers and those who are self-employed.
In 2011, the most common applicants were retail workers, those who are self-employed, and sales people.
“Local government workers are among those starting to struggle. People who have never had difficulty are coming to a lower level of lending. We are seeing quite a lot more of what we thought of as prime borrowers. Maybe government cuts are starting to bite,” said Graeme Wingate, the managing director of Quick Loans.
