Photo: Prague, credit: KK / Brno Daily.
Brno / Czech. Rep., Feb 9 (BD) – According to data published by the EU statistical authority Eurostat on the last day of January, 1 in 10 employed people over the age of 18 in the EU were at risk of poverty.
In 2018, this figure rose to 9.5%, an increase of just under 1% in 10 years.
There is a small difference between men and women – in 2018, 9.9% of men were at risk of poverty compared to 9.1% of women.
Permanent vs Temporary Workers: Who Is More At Risk?
Part-time workers and people employed on temporary contracts are more likely to face in-work poverty. In 2018, part-time workers in the EU had a 15.7% chance of falling into poverty, compared to 7.8% of full-time workers. Furthermore, employees with temporary contracts were almost three times more at risk (16.2%) than employees with permanent jobs (6.1%).
Highest In-work Poverty In Romania, Lowest In Finland
The Czech Republic is the second least affected by poverty, with just 3.4%, behind only Finland.
Over the last few years the member states with the highest increase in risk of in-work poverty were Luxembourg, with 4.3 pp (percentage points), Italy with 3.2 pp, and the UK with 2.8 pp.
The highest decrease was seen in Greece (-3.3 pp), Latvia and Romania (both with -2.4 pp) and Portugal (-2.1 pp).
Table: Five EU countries least threatened by poverty / proportion of employed persons at risk of poverty, 2018. Source: Eurostat.
| 1 | Finland | 3,1% |
| 2 | Czechia | 3,4% |
| 3 | Ireland | 4,9% |
| 4 | Belgium and Croatia | 5,2% |
| 5 | Denmark | 5.4% |
