Workers on the brink of poverty

While being in employment is a key safeguard against poverty, it does not necessarily guarantee that poverty is no longer a risk. Across Europe, it is estimated that 8% of those in employment are at or below the poverty level (earning less than 60% of median income). A new report from Eurofound finds that policymakers rarely seem to tackle this complex and little-recognised phenomenon directly, dealing with it rather as part of more general anti-poverty measures. Some national governments have, however, set out to address it explicitly. In the UK, for instance, the Income Support scheme is designed to boost the incomes of low-income workers, while in Norway, tax reductions have been proposed for such workers. However, rising unemployment, wage cuts and cuts in working time in response to recession – as well as reductions in social benefits – are likely to have pushed many workers close to the brink of in-work poverty.
Read the study
via Eurofound News April 2010

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