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

PovertyWho is affected?

 

The above graph compares poverty rates among people according to the labour force status of the main income-earner.
Among people in households where the main income-earner was unemployed, 62% were in poverty in 2019-20.
Where the main income-earner was under 65 years old and not in the labour force, 47% of household members were in poverty.
Poverty rates were much lower where the main income-earner was employed fulltime (4.8%).
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 (19%).
Among people in households where the main income-earner was 65 years and over and not in the labour force, 16% were in poverty.
While people in households whose main income-earner is employed had a relatively low rate of poverty, they comprised 38% of all people in poverty, due to the relatively large number of wage-earning households overall

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