Reducing poverty must be central to the debate about Scottish independence

via JRF – Combined Feed by Tom McInnes

Shocking inequalities in health and wealth have been revealed by the sixth Monitoring Poverty in Scotland report from JRF.

Our latest assessment of the trends in poverty and social exclusion in Scotland reveals progress on reducing child and pensioner poverty, which is good news. But what has developed is a stark and worrying picture of poor health and no wealth among people in Scotland.

This has manifested itself in two main ways in the jobs market, ignited by the effects of the financial crash and the recession that followed.

1. Young people have been hit particularly hard: unemployment among the under-25s stood at 90,000 in 2012, a near doubling since 2008. Unemployment among young adults is still rising, while it has levelled off for older age groups since 2010.
2. Our report highlights not just unemployment but also underemployment. Full-time jobs have been disappearing in the wake of a relentless rise in part-time positions. That leaves a workforce of 120,000 who want, but cannot find, full-time jobs – up from 70,000 just over four years ago.

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