TUC analysis of new official poverty figures published today (Thursday) has found that working age poverty in the South West has fallen slowly since 2010/11, despite regional unemployment falling significantly.
The proportion of working age people living in poverty was 20% in 2010/11, and 18% in 2016/17, according to today’s new figures from the Office for National Statistics.
The slow progress comes despite unemployment in the South West falling considerably from 6.6% in 2011 to 3.6% in 2017.
TUC Regional Secretary for the South West Nigel Costley said:
“If you work hard, you shouldn’t have to worry about making ends meet. Yet despite rising employment, lots of working families in the South West are still living in poverty.
“Unless ministers reverse their planned cuts to universal credit, things will get much worse.
“Working people in the South West desperately need a new deal. First of all, this means cracking down on exploitative zero-hours contracts and sham self-employment. We also need more public investment in national and regional infrastructure, as well as our public services to support the creation of decent jobs that a family can live on.”
Proportions of workers in (1) working age poverty and (2) unemployment for UK nations and regions*
UK nation or region |
(1) Working age poverty % |
(2) Unemployment rate % |
||||
2010/11 |
2016/17 |
Change (ppts) |
Jan-Mar 2011 |
Jan-Mar 2017 |
Change (ppts) |
|
North East |
22 |
24 |
+2 |
10.4 |
5.9 |
-4.5 |
North West |
23 |
22 |
-1 |
7.8 |
4.3 |
-3.5 |
Yorks & Humber |
23 |
22 |
-1 |
9.2 |
4.9 |
-4.3 |
East Mids |
21 |
20 |
-1 |
7.7 |
3.9 |
-3.8 |
West Mids |
24 |
22 |
-2 |
9.5 |
5.7 |
-3.8 |
Eastern |
18 |
18 |
0 |
6.2 |
3.9 |
-2.3 |
London |
28 |
26 |
-2 |
9.1 |
6.1 |
-3.0 |
South East |
16 |
17 |
+1 |
5.7 |
3.5 |
-2.2 |
South West |
20 |
18 |
-2 |
6.6 |
3.6 |
-3.0 |
Wales |
22 |
24 |
+2 |
7.7 |
4.8 |
-2.9 |
Scotland |
19 |
19 |
0 |
7.7 |
4.4 |
-3.3 |
Northern Ireland |
19 |
19 |
0 |
7.2 |
5.3 |
-1.9 |
UK |
21 |
21 |
0 |
7.7 |
4.6 |
-3.1 |
* A worker is considered in working age poverty if their household income is less than 60% of median household income (after housing costs).
Source: Poverty figures are taken from Households Below Average Incomes 1994/95-2016/17 and unemployment figures from the Labour Force Survey, both of which are publications of the Office for National Statistics.
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