Moving In and Out of In-work Poverty in the UK: An Analysis of Transitions, Trajectories and Trigger Events

Abstract

There is growing concern about the problem of in-work poverty in the UK. Despite this, the literature on in-work poverty remains small in comparison with that on low pay and, in particular, we know relatively little about how people move in and out of in-work poverty. This paper presents an analysis of in-work poverty transitions in the UK, and extends the literature in this field in a number of identified ways. The paper finds that that in-work poverty is more transitory than poverty amongst working-age adults more generally, and that the number of workers in the household is a particularly strong predictor of in-work poverty transitions. For most, in-work poverty is a temporary phenomenon, and most exits are by exiting poverty while remaining in work. However, our study finds that respondents who experience in-work poverty were three times more likely than non-poor workers to become workless, while one-quarter of respondents in workless, poor families who gained work entered in-work poverty. These findings demonstrate the limits to which work provides a route out of poverty, and points to the importance of trying to support positive transitions while minimising negative shocks faced by working poor families.

Financial exclusion of bankable adults: implication on financial inclusive growth among twenty-seven SSA countries

“…This result is corroborated with the findings from the by Cardiff University which opined that the risk of poverty for adults living in working households increased by 26.5% from 12.4 to 15.7%, between 2004/5 and 2014/15. The same result shows that by the end of 2015, 60% of persons living in extreme poverty were persons of all age brackets working in one firm or the other (Hick and Lanau, 2018). On the contrary Choudhury and Bagchi (2016) posit that work status, head of family's savings habit, education and location have significant relationship with financial exclusion in India.…”

Tax Credits and In-Work Poverty in the UK: An Analysis of Income Packages and Anti-Poverty Performance

“…Thus, social security income represents an important component of working poor households’ incomes. Indeed, Hick and Lanau (2018) find that four in ten exits from in-work poverty co-occur with a rise in social security income of more than 20 per cent.…”

Working and Homeless: Exploring the Interaction of Housing and Labour Market Insecurity

“…Whilst research on 'in-work homelessness' is scarce, the evidence base on a related concept, namely, 'in-work poverty', and its incidence is growing -both in the UK and in other countries (Tinson et al, 2016;Hick and Lanau, 2018). The experience of poverty has been identified as a 'key contributory factor' to homelessness (Johnsen and Watts, 2014).…”

“…Whilst low pay, in-work poverty and related concepts have received growing attention in the literature to date (Tinson et al, 2016;Hick and Lanau, 2018), 'in-work homelessness' remains a comparatively underexplored issue. This article addresses that neglect and presents new evidence about the experiences of working people facing homelessness in Wales.…”