One in six Dutch households now runs the risk of getting into serious debt and home-owners with jobs are increasingly likely to get into financial difficulty according to new research for the social affairs ministry.

Junior social affairs minister Jetta Klijnsma said she is shocked by the results. ‘Every person in debt is a person too many, and their number is rising,’ she said. ‘I am extremely concerned about this.’

The research shows 17% of Dutch households are at risk of getting into debt. In total, between 370,00 and 530,000 households are already in financial difficulty but only around half of them are getting any outside help in solving the situation.

Youngsters and the elderly are more likely to run up debts but well-educated households with their own home are also increasingly vulnerable, the report said. This is because they are likely to run up larger bank overdrafts and credit card bills which they then cannot pay off.