Today’s publication of the government’s annual poverty statistics (Households Below Average Income) for 2018/19 found:
- The number of individuals in relative low income remains stable at 5m.
- However, people in the lowest 10 income percentiles, and in the median income percentiles, have seen the largest reductions in their income: decreasing between 0.5% and 2.6%
- More than half (58%) of working-age people in poverty are in families where someone works.
- 12% of people on low incomes are self-employed (1.74m)
- 64% of people on low incomes (approximately 9.2m) have no savings at all.
- There are 600,000 more children in relative poverty (after housing costs) since 2010, and 100,000 more children in absolute poverty (after housing costs) since 2010.
Commenting on today’s statistics, Carl Packman, Head of Corporate Engagement at Fair By Design said: “These statistics show that life on a low income is becoming even more difficult and insecure. While the figure of relative UK poverty has stayed static, particular groups have seen their situation get worse. And while nobody at all should be in poverty, the fact that so much poverty is within working families shows that work sadly isn’t always the route out of poverty. The precarity of this reality has been demonstrated in stark terms during the current COVID-19 crisis.”
