On December 17th, 2018 the Central Statistics Office (CSO) published the Survey on Income and Living Conditions, SILC, for 2017. SILC is a household survey that captures information on a range of income and social transfers.
Amongst the data produced by SILC are key national poverty indicators including the at-risk-of- poverty rate; the deprivation rate; and the consistent poverty rate.
- The at-risk-of-poverty rate is defined as “the share of persons with an equivalised income below a given percentage (usually 60%) of the national median income”.
- The deprivation rate is defined as “Households that are excluded and marginalised from consuming goods and services which are considered the norm for other people in society, due to an inability to afford them”.
- The consistent poverty rate captures people “who are defined as being at risk of poverty and experiencing enforced deprivation (experiencing two or more types of deprivation)”.
At the national level the at-risk-of- poverty rate declined from 16.2% in 2016 to 15.7% in 2017. The deprivation rate was 21% in 2016 and fell to 18.8% in 2017. The deprivation rate for people who are at-risk-of- poverty fell from 50.4% in 2016 to 42.8% in 2017. The consistent poverty rate was 8.2% in 2016 and 6.7% in 2017.
Looking at these figures from the perspective of people who are unemployed:
- The at-risk-of- poverty rate increased from 39.2% in 2016 to 42% in 2017.
- The deprivation rate declined from 42.5% in 2016 to 41% in 2017.
- The consistent poverty rate increased from 23.4% in 2016 and 24.1% in 2017.
As these figures illustrate, key poverty indicators are much higher for unemployed people than the national figures. This is also true for other groups of people. In 2017 the consistent poverty rate for people who are ‘not at work due to illness or disability’ was 24%; their deprivation rate was 45.9%; and their at-risk-of- poverty rate was 35.4%.
Looking at these figures from a household composition, three households had a consistent poverty rate in double digits: 1 adult aged <65 at 20%; 1 adult with children aged under 18 at 20.7%; and other households with children aged under 18 at 11.3%.
Households with no-one at work, often called ‘jobless households’, had a consistent poverty rate of 21.3% in 2017; a deprivation rate of 34.2%; and an at-risk-of- poverty rate of 40.3%.
To read the full survey please follow this link:
https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-silc/surveyonincomeandlivingconditionssilc2017/