Summary
What the indicators show: income
Numbers in low income»
-
The number of people on low incomes rose in 2006/07 for the second year in a row. This rise occurred at all levels of low income.
-
The number of people below a fixed 1996/97 low-income threshold rose in 2006/07 for the second year in a row, after halving in the previous eight years as real incomes rose.
-
The UK has a higher proportion of its population in relative low income than most other EU countries.
Location of low income»
-
The proportion of people on low income has fallen over the last decade in all regions, but less so in the Midlands and in London. London now has a much higher proportion than any other region.
-
Whilst the proportion of people on low income is highest in the major urban conurbations, all types of local authority district have at least a sixth of their population in low income.
The impact of housing costs»
-
The numbers of people in low income is always lower on a 'before deducting housing costs' measure than on an 'after deducting housing costs' measure, although the gap has narrowed over the last decade.
-
The proportion of people in low income in Southern England (particularly London) is much higher on an 'after deducting housing costs' measure than on a 'before deducting housing costs' measure.
Low income by age group»
-
The proportions of children and pensioners who live in low-income households are lower than a decade ago. By contrast, the proportion for working-age adults without dependent children has remained unchanged.
-
The only group where the number of low-income people is higher than a decade ago is working-age adults without dependent children.
-
A third of all people in low-income households are working-age adults without dependent children.
-
The heightened risk that children face of living in a low-income household does not end at the formal end of childhood but continues through to the age of 21.
Low income by family type»
-
A half of all people in lone parent families are in low income, two-and-a-half times the rate for couples with children.
-
The vast majority of people with very low incomes are either working-age adults without children or in couples with children. Relatively few are either pensioners or in lone parent families.
Low income and ethnicity»
-
Around two-fifths of people from ethnic minorities live in low-income households, twice the rate for White people.
-
Whilst rates have been falling for all ethnic groups, more than half of people from Bangladeshi and Pakistani ethnic backgrounds still live in low-income households.
-
For all ages, people from ethnic minorities are, on average, much more likely to live in low-income households than White British people.
-
For all work statuses, people from ethnic minorities are, on average, more likely to live in low-income households than White British people. The gap is biggest for part-working families.
-
Among those in working families, around 55% of Bangladeshis, 45% of Pakistanis and 30% of Black Africans are in low income.
-
Unlike ethnic minorities, the proportion of White British people who live in low-income households is similar across the UK.
-
More than half of people living in low-income households in London are from ethnic minorities.
Low income by gender»
-
Women are a bit - but only a bit - more likely to live in low-income households than men and the gap has narrowed considerably in recent years.
-
Single female pensioners and female lone parents are both more likely to be in low-income households than their male equivalents, but there is no difference for working-age singles without children.
-
In terms of family type, the composition of those in low income is much more varied for women than for men.
-
The two groups where women dominate - single pensioners and lone parents - are precisely the groups where the proportion who are in low income has been falling.
-
Men aged 60 to 64 are more likely to be in low income than men in any other age group between 25 and 80.
Persistent low income»
-
15% of the population - around 9 million people - experience low income in at least two years in three.
-
Most households who spend at least some time on low income move in and out of low income.
-
In 2001, the proportion of the UK population on persistent low income was only just above the EU average but still twice that of the best.
Income inequalities»
-
Except for those at the top and bottom of the income distribution, households with below-average incomes have enjoyed bigger proportional increases over the last decade than households with above-average incomes.
-
In terms of the extra money, however, three-quarters has gone to those with above- average incomes and a third has gone to those in the richest tenth.
-
The richest tenth now have 30% of total income, somewhat more than a decade ago. The poorest tenth have less than 2% of total income.
-
The income of the richest tenth is more than the income of all those on below-average incomes (i.e. the bottom five tenths) combined.
-
Inner London is deeply divided: it has by far the highest proportion of people on a low income but also the highest proportion of people on a high income.
-
Within the bottom three income deciles, the proportion who are pensioners rises as income rises whilst the proportion who are in workless working-age families falls as income rises.
Lacking essentials»
-
Many people on low incomes say that they cannot afford selected essential items or activities - but so do quite a lot of people on average incomes.
-
The essential items that are mostly commonly lacking are those which are directly money-related.
-
In 1999, two-fifths of all households lacked one or more essentials and a fifth lacked three or more.
Lacking consumer durables»
-
A fifth of households in low income lack either a freezer or a washing machine. This compares with almost half a decade ago.
-
For all consumer durables, the proportion of low-income households who are lacking them is lower than a decade ago but still higher than for those on average incomes.
Benefit levels»
-
The level of means-tested benefits, relative to earnings, for both pensioners and families with two or more children stopped increasing around 2003. The level of means-tested benefits for working-age adults without children continues to decline.
-
While the level of Income Support / Jobseeker's Allowance for both families with children and pensioners has gone up much faster than inflation over the last decade that for working-age adults without children has remained constant in real terms.
-
Almost half of all adults in receipt of State benefits are of working age and do not have dependent children.
-
A third of all adults in receipt of State benefits are of working age and either sick or disabled.
Out-of-work benefit recipients»
-
The number of working-age claimants of out-of-work benefits has fallen steadily throughout the last decade.
-
Two-fifths of all claimants of Incapacity Benefit or Severe Disablement Allowance have mental or behaviour disorders.
-
Two-fifths of all claimants of Incapacity Benefit or Severe Disablement Allowance are aged 44 or less.
-
Twice as many working-age people in the North East and Wales are recipients of out-of-work benefits as in the South East.
Long-term recipients of benefits»
-
Three-quarters of working-age people receiving a key out-of-work benefit for two years or more are now sick or disabled.
-
Two-fifths of all long-term claimants of Incapacity Benefit or Severe Disablement Allowance have mental or behaviour disorders.
-
Two-thirds of the long-term claimants of Incapacity Benefit or Severe Disablement Allowance are aged less than 55 and a third are aged less than 45.
In receipt of tax credits»
-
The introduction of Working and Child Tax Credits means that the number of working households who are in receipt of in-work benefits has trebled over the last decade.
-
The proportion of working-age households who are in receipt of tax credits in London and the South East is much less than elsewhere in the UK.
-
Only a quarter of tax credit recipients are no longer in low income because of the tax credit monies received.