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

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 February 2018

ROD HICK  and
ALBA LANAU
ROD HICK
Affiliation:
School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University, South Glamorgan, CF10 3WT, Wales, UK email: hickr@cardiff.ac.uk
ALBA LANAU
Affiliation:
School of Policy Studies, University of Bristol, 8 Priory Rd, Bristol BS8 1TZ email: Alba.Lanau@bristol.ac.uk
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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 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 are 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.

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Type
Article
Information
Journal of Social Policy , Volume 47 , Issue 4 , October 2018 , pp. 661 - 682
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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