The risk of child poverty increases by 35.5% in households where only one parent works

The dossier Objective: To Palliate Child Poverty, published by ”la Caixa” Social Observatory, analyses the close links between child poverty, the employment market and public monetary assistance.

Employment is a determinant of child poverty, even in times of prosperity. In 2008, the risk of anchored poverty among children living in households where only one parent had a job was 35.5%, while in 2018 the figure stood at 48.1%, an increase of 35.5%.

Spain has one of the highest child poverty rates in Europe. In 2018, 29.9% of children lived below the anchored poverty threshold in our country, a figure higher than before the crisis.

Assistance aimed directly at children is three times more effective at alleviating child poverty than benefits based on family income. Spain is among the five European countries that provide the least direct assistance for children.