Living wage: In work poverty on the rise
CONCERN for young people has been highlighted in a study for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, which says that more young people are living in poverty than those aged above 65 because of a lack of well-paid jobs and affordable homes.
It also found that young people were four times more likely to be unemployed than the working age population as a whole and the next generation is facing worse life chances than their parents.
The foundation’s annual state-of-the-nation report, written by the New Policy Institute and released in November, found that 400,000 more young people aged between 16 and 24 were living in poverty than a decade ago.
Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s chief executive Julia Unwin said the findings showed fundamental shifts in the causes of poverty and which groups are at greatest risk.
It highlighted that a lack of well-paid jobs, genuinely affordable homes and opportunities to get on at work or in education is making it harder for people to build a secure future.
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Finding a job is not a reliable route out of poverty, as half of those below the poverty line live in a household with at least one adult in work, the study found.
Unwin said: “The next generation is being condemned to a worse set of circumstances in which to live, work and raise a family. The report reveals that a large proportion of young people are being locked out of the opportunities they need to build a secure future – a secure home, a job that pays the bills and the chance to get on in life.”
“The welcome fall in the number of pensioners living in poverty, thanks partly to direct action from the Government, shows that this is a problem which can be solved.
“We need to see the same commitment to tackling the drivers of poverty among younger people, including low pay, unaffordable housing and difficulties entering into and progressing at work.
“There is an important role for businesses, employers, and local leaders, who must work together if we are to eradicate poverty once and for all.”
Shadow work and pensions secretary owen Smith said: “A job should offer everyone a route out of poverty, yet these figures show more than half of families below the poverty line have at least one adult in work.
“While the prospects look ever worse for young people, with 1.7 million left struggling in poverty right at the start of their adult lives.”
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