The number of Britons without savings has surged by more than a million in the past year, throwing the financial security of working families into disarray, a new analysis of poverty data shows.

Some 7.9 million people will have no money in their bank accounts in 2022/23, up from 6.8 million a year ago. More than 21 million people – almost a third of the UK population – have less than £1,500 in reserves.

Labor analyzed the figures, accusing the Tories of “ruining household finances” and blaming the “economic chaos” of the past few years for pushing half a million working families into absolute poverty in the same year.

Shadow work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall said it was “catastrophic for the living standards of working families”.

Ms Kendall said: “These figures expose 14 years of devastating economic failure by the Conservatives.

“Under their leadership, the Conservatives have devastated the economy and triggered a cost-of-living crisis that has sent mortgages soaring and devastated household finances.”

In February this year, a report by the Resolution Foundation estimated that the UK had a £74 billion shortfall in saving for emergencies and retirement, compared with countries where every household puts aside at least three months of their income into precautionary savings.

The survey found that less than half (49%) of working-age households have savings equivalent to at least three months’ income, leaving the country vulnerable to family breakdown and job losses.

The foundation also warned that people with lower savings levels were more than twice as likely to use credit cards, overdraft or borrow money than those with a nest egg of at least £1,000.

The Debt Justice Campaign estimates that 6.7 million people in the UK are currently in financial difficulty, which found that 13% of adults have missed three or more credit or bill payments in the past six months.

Last week’s news that a record number of children are living in poverty has raised concerns about the financial well-being of British households.

Around 4.3 million children are currently growing up in poverty in the UK, the highest level since records began more than 20 years ago. There are 900,000 more people living in absolute poverty than in 2020/21, 400,000 of whom are children.

Figures released by the Department for Work and Pensions paint a bleak picture for the national economy, with average household income falling by 1.5% in the past year and income inequality growing.

Analysis of data by the think tank New Economics Foundation (NEF) found that child poverty rates in the poorest areas are rising 5.6 times faster than in the richest areas.

Nineteen of the 20 local authorities in England with the highest increases in child poverty since 2014/15 are in the North West, East Midlands and West Midlands.

Campaigners say the statistics should sound alarm bells, with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation accusing the government of failing to protect the UK’s most vulnerable.

A Tory spokesman said: “Labour can’t say what they will do because they don’t have any plans.

“Their countless unfunded spending promises will destroy the economy and leave Britons to pay for it through higher taxes.”

They added: “The Conservatives are sticking to the plan, which will give workers a £900 tax cut. Labor will take us back to square one.”