British households turned more downbeat about their finances in May, according to a survey that hinted at weakness in the consumer economy which has been one of the bright spots for Britain during the Brexit ructions.

IHS Markit said its Household Finance Index (HFI) fell to 42.5 from 43.8, its lowest level since September 2017 as worries grew about job security, particularly in retail and manufacturing.

"Despite the latest labour market data showing historically-low unemployment and reasonably robust wage growth, weak confidence has acted to undermine these trends and led to belt-tightening at UK households," said Joe Hayes, an economist at survey compiler IHS Markit.

Still, households became a little more optimistic about their finances in the coming year, the survey showed.