Hairdressers lose priority to phones

HAIRDRESSERS, restaurants and theme parks are big losers as households budgets continue to be trimmed.

Research by the government statistics group Insee on VAT receipts shows a 1.2% drop in the restaurant sector, 2.7% drop in theme parks and a 2% drop in hairdressing and dyeing during 2012 compared to 2011.

Telecommunications services, such as mobile phone and internet contracts bucked the downward trend, rising 6.2%.

Overall household spending, outside of rents and other house-related costs which have risen 1.1%, has dropped 0.4%.

"Households are not alone in tightening their belts, businesses have also reduced their expenses to restore their profit margins,” said the report.

It noted that firms’ spending on such services as accounting, architecture and lawyers rose 2.2% last year compared with 6% in 2011.

Photo: Flickr/Kevin Jaako