youthmoney

More than a fifth of young people in the UK live in poverty. Figures from a new study suggest that 22.7 per cent of 16 to 19 year olds and 20.3 per cent of 20 to 24 year olds are in poverty. The rates are on the high side, compared with 13 other pre-enlargement EU countries.

Leaving home puts young people at a higher risk of poverty. Employment helps get them out of it—but only after they’ve kept a job for a year. It’s not getting a job that’s important, say the researchers, but getting one and keeping it.

The study, published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation,  is interesting, not least because it covers an area that policy makers know relatively little about. As the reseachers say, “very little has been written to date about the economic stresses which young people face, and the associated risks of poverty and deprivation. ” Which needs to change.

The research was carried out by Maria Iacovou and Arnstein Aassve of the Institute for Social and Economic Research, Essex University. See a summary and download the full report.