Quarter of people at risk of poverty
Report shows that levels of inequality are rising in Catalonia after two years of economic improvement
The federation Entitats Catalanes d’Acció Social (ECAS) yesterday presented its 10th Insocat study into job security, living costs and social spending. The study by social researcher Georgina Marín with doctor of economics, Júlia Montserrat, shows that poverty and inequality have gone up in Catalonia, despite two years of cautious economic recovery.
The study’s results show that 23.8% of the population is at risk of poverty and social exclusion, with 20% with higher financial resources earning 5.7 times more than the 20% who earn least. The study thus suggests inequality continues to rise, particularly among migrants.
What’s more, half of households have difficulties getting to the end of the month. Teresa Crespo, spokeswoman for Pobresa and former ECAS president, pointed to a lack of transformative public policy and insufficient social spending as determining factors in ensuring “the perpetuation of inequalities and poverty.”
The report also shows that spending on basic services has not recovered from the cuts made between 2010 and 2014. In this period, spending on basic services went down by four billion and has only recovered by 1.8 billion. In employment, the report focuses on the temporary nature of jobs, with almost 9 out of 10 new contracts being temporary. In wages, the report clearly reveals gender discrimination, with almost 20% of women earning less than the minimum wage every year, which for men is 7.8%.
As for housing, the report shows that the rate of risk of poverty is higher among people who rent homes. Xavi Loza, director of La Vinya d’Acció Social, said it is poverty “linked to the rise in rents and a lack of public housing.” Finally, the study questions the social benefit system, with Ferran Busquets, from the Fundació Arrels, and Teresa Crespo, calling for greater investment in the guaranteed minimum income.