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Poverty set to rise to highest level this century in 2012

Poverty is on the increase in the Netherlands, with children, single-parent families and people living on benefits among the worst affected.

An estimated 60,000 households are expected to have fallen into poverty by the end of 2012, bringing the total to 588,000 or 8.5 per cent of the population.

Single-income households, including those living alone and independent businesspeople, are likely to be worst hit, according to research by Statistics Netherlands (Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek/CBS) and the Netherlands Institute for Social Research (Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau/SCP).

The annual poverty report found that the brief recovery from recession in 2010 did not lead to a reduction in the poverty figures, which are forecast to reach their highest level since the turn of the century by the end of 2012.

One of the biggest rises is in the number of working poor, many of them self-employed workers whose main source of income is a job that does not pay enough to take them above the poverty level.

One in nine children will be living in households the low income threshold, defined by the SCP as an income of €1000 per month for a single person. The ratio is currently one in ten.

The SCP defines the poverty threshold as enough income to cover basic needs as well as a modest amount for recreation and social activity.

Source: De Volkskrant: Armoede in Nederland neemt ook in 2012 toe

Photo by Anja Hermans

See also: Netherlands Institute for Social Research (in English)

Statistics Netherlands (in English)