Almost three million of workers in Spain live in poverty, which means that the 13.7% of employees live below the income threshold povertydespite the continued increases in the Interprofessional Minimum Wage (SMI), labor reform or having historic employment figures and the lowest unemployment rate since 2008.
Likewise, sectors such as hospitality and the construction They also face this problem, which affects two out of ten employed people in the country.
Transversal to all sectors of activity, there is another problem on the labor market: one in four workers autonomous and part-time employees are also found in working poverty.
Likewise, the sectors most affected by working poverty are agriculture and the homeworkwhere three out of ten workers live in poverty even though they have a job. All this data comes from the report ‘Working poverty: when working is not enough to make ends meet’ Oxfam Intermon.
Outside the EU, it doubles
Furthermore, nearly 30% of people born outside the European Union are in a situation of working poverty, almost double the national rate (13.7%) and 20 percentage points more than those born in Spain, country of origin being the demographic characteristic that has the most weight for explain which people are most affected by in-work poverty.
By autonomous community, Andalusia leads in working poverty with a rate of 19.4%, with Extremadura (17.2%) and Castilla la Mancha (15.4%) completing the podium.
The price of housing makes the situation worse
The report also shows that rising prices for housing and basic services have further exacerbated the problem. Households in working poverty spend between 67% and 79% of their income on paying for housing and basic services.
In addition, four out of ten households with three or more minors in their care and three out of ten single-parent households – 75% of whom have a woman as the adult reference – are in a situation of working poverty.
On the other hand, the study warns that dropping out of school makes the situation worse. Thus, six out of ten poor workers would have liked to continue their studies, but 54% were forced to abandon them due to lack of resources or the need to work to survive.
“This cycle perpetuates inequalities,” warns Oxfarm Intermón, which also emphasizes that poor workers “leave an important emotional mark”, because these workers “are forced to live to work and not to work to live” and to devote “fully ” their lives. wages to basic expenses, giving up all forms of leisure and the enjoyment of free time, which has a “strong” impact on their mental health.
“We see the exhaustion and despair of those who, even if they have a job, cannot progress economically or enjoy a decent life,” underlined the head of social protection and employment policies of ‘Oxfam Intermón, Alejandro García-Gil.
55% give up basic health
Furthermore, more than half of households in working poverty (55.3%) have had to give up essential health services such as dental care, glasses or psychological monitoring over the last year, due to lack of resources.
Faced with this situation, Oxfam Intermón proposes urgent measures to confront this reality and improve the quality of jobs, provide broader social protection and reform the benefit system, so that the most vulnerable families are not left without protection.
“It is not enough to create jobs: we must ensure that they are of quality and that they allow people to live with dignity. For many households, a salary is not enough if it is not accompanied by fair working conditions, access to decent housing and a solid social protection system that allows them to get ahead,” concludes Garcia-Gil.
