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Number of people in poverty by labour force status of main income-earner in 2019-20, and change in poverty

PovertyWho is affected?

 

Among people in households where the main income-earner was unemployed, 231,000 people were in poverty in 2019-20.
Where the main income-earner was under 65 years old and not in the labour force, 1,186,000 household members were in poverty.
Poverty rates were much lower where the main income-earner was employed fulltime (701,000 people).
People in households relying on a single part-time wage were more than three times as likely as those relying on a fulltime wage to be in poverty (574,000 people).
Among people in households where the main income-earner was 65 years and over and not in the labour force, 628,000 were in poverty.
The greatest reductions in poverty occurred among people in households whose main income-earner was unemployed (by 94,000 people) or under 65 years and not in the labour force (by 327,000 people).
Poverty also declined in households whose main income-earner was employed fulltime (by 367,000 people) but increased slightly where they were employed part-time (by 3,000 people).

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