Maytree published the Poverty segmentation: The challenge of the ‘working poor’ report, which proposes a new definition for the ‘working poor’ and leverages this to examine different segments of people who are experiencing poverty in Canada.
Maytree proposes the following definition of working poor:
- A person lives in a working poor family (or is an unattached individual who is working poor) if:
- Their economic family’s Market Basket Measure (MBM) disposable income is less than the MBM threshold of low income applicable to the family size and geographic region; and
- Their economic family’s combined hours worked in the paid labour force (including self-employment) is equal to or greater than 500 hours a year.
According to the report, 42% of people who live in poor families in Canada live in working poor families. Maytree notes that this subset of individuals is larger than those in poor families and senior poor families. The working poor is generally comprised of younger adults (aged 20-39), single individuals, and couples with children. The report stresses that many people with low income live in working poor families and still cannot afford housing, food, and other essentials.
Within the report, Maytree provides further insights into the research and delves into the policy recommendations, click here.
