Public concern about inflation has reached its highest level for 40 years as prices continue to climb, a survey suggests.

A poll by Ipsos found 45% of British adults thought inflation was one of the most important issues facing the country.

The figure represents not only an increase on the 40% who listed inflation as a concern in June, but also the highest recorded level of concern since Ipsos started its monthly issues tracking survey in the early 1980s.

Concern about rising prices tracks inflation itself, which reached a 40-year high of 9.4% in June, while economists fear it could end up exceeding 10%.

The survey, which asked 1,000 British adults what they thought were the most important issues facing Britain today, found inflation was by far the biggest concern, followed by the economy in general, which was mentioned by 34% of people.

No other issue scored more than 16%, including the NHS, Brexit, climate change and immigration.

People aged between 18 and 34 were even more likely to mention inflation, with 53% saying they were concerned about rising prices.

Mike Clemence, a senior consultant at Ipsos, said: “Public concern about inflation continues to increase, matching the rises we see in the official inflation rate.

“Now almost half of the public mention rising prices as one of the biggest issues for Britain, the highest level we’ve seen since the early Eighties.”

But, he added, “very few” people were worried about unemployment despite the worsening economic picture.

Just 3% of people listed unemployment as a major issue facing the country, the lowest level Ipsos has recorded since it began its issues surveys in 1974.