Romania has the highest in-work poverty risk in EU

According to data from Eurostat, the risk of in-work poverty in Romania was almost double (18.9 percent) in 2016 compared to the EU average (9.6 percent).

Romania has the highest in-work poverty risk in the EU, followed by Greece (14.1 percent), Spain (13.1 percent), Luxembourg (12 percent), Italy (11.7 percent) and Bulgaria (11.4 percent). At the opposite end, the lowest risk is in Finland (3.1 percent), the Czech Republic (3.8 percent), Belgium (4.7 percent) and Ireland (4.8 percent).

The data also shows that at the EU level, the in-work poverty rate has constantly grown in the last few years, from 8.3 percent in 2010 to 9.6 percent in 2016. This growth trend occurred in the majority of member states, with the highest increases in Hungary, Bulgaria, Estonia, Germany, Italy and Spain.

The in-work poverty rate decreased in only nine EU member countries – the most significant progress was seen in Lithuania, Denmark, Latvia and Sweden.

The poverty risk for people who are working is significantly influenced by the type of work contract – the risk is twice as high for part-time workers compared to full-time workers, and almost three times as high for those who have temporary jobs compared to permanent job holders.

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The gender breakdown shows that in-work men have a higher poverty risk than women – on average 10 percent for men and 9.1 percent at the EU level. In Romania, the rate for men is much higher – 21.5 percent; for women, it is 15.2 percent.