The drop in unemployment does not reduce child poverty: it already affects nearly four out of ten children

BarcelonaDespite the positive economic figures and from low unemploymentPoverty has increased by 0.8 percentage points in Catalonia over the past year. This breaks the trend of a modest reduction that began in 2021 thanks to the injection of aid from the social safety net approved in response to the pandemic crisis. According to the latest Living Conditions Survey, published this Thursday by the Statistical Institute of Catalonia (Idescat), 24.8% of the Catalan population is poor and lives with material deprivation. This worsening social situation has not surprised organizations and NGOs, which have been noticing an increase in demand for their services for months. among people who have a jobThe poverty threshold is set at incomes below €13,800 for a single person and €29,100 for two adults and two children. In fact, child poverty—children living in poverty—is Catalonia's biggest failing, placing it among the European regions with the highest number of minors experiencing basic deprivation. In the 0-16 age group, poverty has increased (another year) by 1.3%, half a percentage point higher than the overall rate, bringing the number of children in precarious situations to 36.1% of the total. This is the highest percentage of child poverty recorded in the last decade, pending a decision on whether to implement a universal childcare benefit so that Spain ceases to be one of the few European countries without a known effective measure.

Despite the very high poverty rate, the analysis also highlights the benefits of social assistance programs. Without taking into account the guaranteed income of citizenship Without the guaranteed minimum income, poverty would climb to 40%. The success of social transfers is most noticeable among the retired population, who receive a pension, but not so much among families with children, since eight out of ten Those who meet the requirements to be beneficiaries do not request itIn fact, right now, 17% of those over 65 suffer from poverty, half the rate of those under 16.

The picture of exclusion is once again particularly harsh on women, at 26% compared to 23.5% of men. One in three households cannot cope with unexpected expenses of 900 euros, and almost three out of ten people cannot afford a week's vacation a year. Furthermore, 16.8% cannot keep their homes at a comfortable temperature year-round, and 14% have to postpone payments on their main residence.

A more unequal society

The survey also confirms a widening inequality gap: the top 20% of earners concentrate up to 4.7 times more income than the bottom 20%, while the average annual income per person stands at €17,262. Thus, 9% of the population report having great difficulty making ends meet, while less than 4% say they manage very easily.

Inequality particularly affects the foreign population. Within this demographic group, there are now 5% more people living in poverty than a year ago. Almost half of this group, 48.6%, survive below the poverty line, given that those living in irregular immigration status are excluded from public benefits. Conversely, among those with Spanish nationality, the rate has decreased slightly and now stands at 17.2%, almost two out of ten.

Social Budgets

Given the poor figures, the Third Sector Social Roundtable has urged the parties in the Catalan Parliament to approve the Generalitat's budget so that financial benefits can be updated to reflect the rising cost of living. "We need a political commitment to a truly socially focused budget," said the organization's president, Xavier Trabado, who identified job insecurity and the difficulty in accessing decent housing as the two major social obstacles.