Persistent Poverty in the UK – 4.6 million people in 2013

This article provides analysis on people in persistent poverty and their associated characteristics.

It shows that:

• In 2013, 7.8% of the UK population were considered to be in persistent income poverty, equivalent to around 4.6 million people. Persistent poverty is defined as being in relative income poverty both in the current year and at least two out of the three preceding years.
• In 2013, the UK persistent poverty rate was less than half the overall poverty rate of 15.9%. By comparison, in many other EU countries, the persistently poor make up a higher proportion of those in poverty.
• Since 2008 (the first year for which comparable EU longitudinal data are available), the UK has consistently had a persistent poverty rate lower than the EU average.
• Almost a third (33%) of the UK population experienced poverty in at least one year between 2010 and 2013, equivalent to approximately 19.3 million people. In contrast, across the EU as a whole, a quarter (25%) of people were in poverty at least once during that period, with a larger proportion of people in the UK experiencing poverty at least once over those 4 years than in many other EU countries.
• Almost 40% of those aged 65 years and over in the UK experienced poverty at least once between 2010 and 2013, compared with around 30% of those under 65.
• In the UK, 60% of those living in single parent households and almost half (46%) of those in single adult households experienced poverty at least once in the four years between 2010 and 2013 compared with less than a third of those living in households with two or more adults.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at Persistent Poverty in the UK and EU, 2008-2013 – ONS.