Alison Taylor, director of operations, Turn2us, writes:

While it is promising that UK unemployment has fallen, we know it is not all good news, as new research by Citizens Advice highlights the extent of insecure employment and the financial challenges it presents.

Four and a half-million people in England and Wales are now in insecure work, including temporary contracts, variable shifts and zero-hour contracts.

A lack of regular hours and guaranteed pay can cause huge uncertainty and stress, as ­workers may not know from week to week if they will be able to cover their bills or rent, or put food on the table for their families.

As a charity helping people in financial hardship, this echoes what we hear regularly. Thirty nine per cent of low-income workers told us that their outgoings outweigh their earnings, while 57 per cent would like to work more hours but cannot get the work. In addition, 87 per cent of all low-income households have seen no improvement in their financial situations within the past year.

Accessing welfare support can also be a challenge for those with fluctuating hours and pay. Therefore, we urge anyone who is struggling financially to use our free benefits calculator at Turn2us.org.uk to check what help could be available. It also includes a ‘better-off’ function to show how a change in hours or wages could affect benefits entitlements and overall ­household income.

While more needs to be done to tackle insecure employment in the long term, we hope that we can help more people to find the support they need now, which could make all the difference in easing some of the pressures they face.