Almost three million working people, 13.8% of those residing in the Canary Islands, are in a situation of poverty in Spain, according to a report by Oxfam Intermón, which highlights the special vulnerability of migrants, domestic workers and large and single-parent families.
In the research 'Labor Poverty: when working is not enough to make ends meet', published this Wednesday, Oxfam Intermón analyzes the "alarming reality" that affects 2,957,000 workers, despite advances in employment in recent years: increase in the SMI, labor reform, historical employment figures and an unemployment rate that has fallen to its lowest level since 2008.
Currently, 13.7% of employed people live below the poverty line, a figure that doubles among migrants (29.5%). At the same time, of the total number of people in poverty, three out of ten have a job.
The report reveals that the sectors most affected by labor poverty are agriculture and domestic work, where three out of ten workers live in poverty despite having a job. They are followed by hospitality and construction, with two out of ten people employed in a situation of poverty.
40% of large families and 30% of single-parent households suffer this situation.
The increase in the cost of housing and basic services has further aggravated the problem: households in a situation of labor poverty allocate between 67% and 79% of their income to the payment of housing and basic services, the research states.
More than half of households in labor poverty (55.3%) have had to give up essential health services such as dental treatments, glasses or psychological follow-up in the last year, due to lack of resources.
"We are faced with a disconcerting paradox: there are many people who strive every morning to go to work and, however, this no longer guarantees them to escape poverty," explains Alejandro García-Gil, head of social protection and employment policies.
Andalusia at the head of labor poverty, Navarra the least
Andalusia is at the head of labor poverty with a rate of 19.4%, followed by Extremadura (17.2%), Ceuta (16.4), Castilla–La Mancha (15.4%), Murcia (14.3), Canary Islands (13.8) and Valencia (13.8).
Below the average rate are Melilla (11.6), Galicia (11.1), La Rioja (11), Castilla y León (10.5), Aragón (10), Cantabria (9.6), Asturias (9.6) and Balearic Islands (9.6).
The communities with the lowest rate of labor poverty are Navarra (6.3%), Basque Country (6.6), Madrid (7) and Catalonia (7.7%).
Poor quality employment
According to the analysis, despite the creation of employment, the productive system and the Spanish economic model continue to generate low-quality jobs.
The report explains that part-time employment or self-employment condemn one in four workers in these modalities to poverty.
On the other hand, six out of ten people in labor poverty 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 inequality, since those who do not access higher education are more likely to get precarious and poorly paid jobs, indicates the NGO.
"In addition to the economic implications, labor poverty also leaves an important emotional mark: these people are forced to live to work and not to work to live; they have to dedicate their entire salaries to basic expenses, renouncing any form of leisure and enjoyment of free time, which strongly impacts their mental health," warns the expert.
Among the urgent measures to face this reality and improve the quality of jobs, are offering broader social protection and reforming the benefit system, so that the most vulnerable families are not left unprotected.
"It is not enough to create employment: it is necessary to guarantee that it is of quality and that it allows 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 robust social protection system that allows them to get ahead," concludes the organization.