Britons increasingly concerned about the economy, Nielsen says

Concerns about the economy rose above those about terrorism or immigration as the date for Brexit negotiations to kick-off loomed closer on the horizon, the results of a survey showed.

A poll among 504 people carried out by Nielsen found that 28% of Britons saw the economy as one of their two top areas of concern at the tail-end of 2016.

That was 12 percentage points more than a year before.

Terrorism and immigration was one of the two top concerns for only 20% of respondents, representing drops of 12 and two percentage points, respectively, in comparison to a year ago.

"As the political and economic planning for Brexit gets underway, concerns about jobs leaving the UK have unsettled consumers," said Steve Smith, managing director at Nielsen UK and Ireland.