[Northern Ireland] MLAs warned of rising ‘in-work poverty’

In Northern Ireland, in the wake of findings that show the majority of people in poverty are in work, Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) have been told that something needs to change, Belfast Telegraph reports.

The Communities Committee at Stormont heard from an anti-poverty charity that labour market “change is needed” and that a “conversation” must be had with employers in relation to the real living wage.

In 2025, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) published a report which revealed that around 330,000 (17 per cent) of people in Northern Ireland live in poverty, including one in four children.

In addition, it reportedly found that 60 per cent of working-age adults living in poverty are in work and 64 per cent of children in poverty in Northern Ireland live in a household where someone works.

Speaking before the committee on February 19, Ursula O’Hare - head of Northern Ireland at the JRF - said that “in work poverty” has risen, showing that “work is not always a reliable route out of poverty”.

“Good work matters for many reasons, and full-time work does remain a protective factor but the key message in the report is that work isn’t always working, and it’s one of the biggest changes over the last 20 years, and it is a trend across the UK as a whole,” Ms O’Hare said.

She continued, “Almost half of all workers have experienced low pay in the last five years so there’s a low pay problem.

“The disability gap continues to be stubbornly persistent, full-time carers are experiencing poverty, and we all know the issues for parents struggling to get access to work with affordable wrap-around childcare.

“So the big message in this is that change is needed in the labour market. We need to dismantle the barriers to empower people to move into and support them to move into good, available work.”

Ms O’Hare said this, together with other factors such as the rising cost of housing, which has traditionally been a “protective factor” in Northern Ireland, was painting a “picture of weak financial resilience”.

“Forty-six per cent of people have less than £1,500 in savings, and the average family with two children who are living in poverty in Northern Ireland are trying to manage on a weekly income that’s £120 below the poverty line,” she said

Ms O’Hare described the Department for the Economy’s Good Jobs Employment Bill as “really important”.

Caoimhe Archibald - Northern Ireland’s economy minister - stated that the Bill currently in progress will help businesses to become more productive, build workers’ skills base, and strengthen employment legislation.

“Strengthening employment rights is really important, and the real living wage was something that we specifically modelled to understand what would the impact be if everybody moved up to the real living wage on child poverty, and we find that it does make a difference,” Ms O’Hare added.

“So there’s an important conversation there to have with employers.

“I know the real living wage campaign is working away at pace in Northern Ireland, so those are some of the things that really need to be considered in the labour market.”

Source: Belfast Telegraph

(Quotes via original reporting)

In Northern Ireland, in the wake of findings that show the majority of people in poverty are in work, Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) have been told that something needs to change, Belfast Telegraph reports.

The Communities Committee at Stormont heard from an anti-poverty charity that labour market “change is needed” and that a “conversation” must be had with employers in relation to the real living wage.

In 2025, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) published a report which revealed that around 330,000 (17 per cent) of people in Northern Ireland live in poverty, including one in four children.

In addition, it reportedly found that 60 per cent of working-age adults living in poverty are in work and 64 per cent of children in poverty in Northern Ireland live in a household where someone works.

Speaking before the committee on February 19, Ursula O’Hare - head of Northern Ireland at the JRF - said that “in work poverty” has risen, showing that “work is not always a reliable route out of poverty”.

“Good work matters for many reasons, and full-time work does remain a protective factor but the key message in the report is that work isn’t always working, and it’s one of the biggest changes over the last 20 years, and it is a trend across the UK as a whole,” Ms O’Hare said.

She continued, “Almost half of all workers have experienced low pay in the last five years so there’s a low pay problem.

“The disability gap continues to be stubbornly persistent, full-time carers are experiencing poverty, and we all know the issues for parents struggling to get access to work with affordable wrap-around childcare.

“So the big message in this is that change is needed in the labour market. We need to dismantle the barriers to empower people to move into and support them to move into good, available work.”

Ms O’Hare said this, together with other factors such as the rising cost of housing, which has traditionally been a “protective factor” in Northern Ireland, was painting a “picture of weak financial resilience”.

“Forty-six per cent of people have less than £1,500 in savings, and the average family with two children who are living in poverty in Northern Ireland are trying to manage on a weekly income that’s £120 below the poverty line,” she said

Ms O’Hare described the Department for the Economy’s Good Jobs Employment Bill as “really important”.

Caoimhe Archibald - Northern Ireland’s economy minister - stated that the Bill currently in progress will help businesses to become more productive, build workers’ skills base, and strengthen employment legislation.

“Strengthening employment rights is really important, and the real living wage was something that we specifically modelled to understand what would the impact be if everybody moved up to the real living wage on child poverty, and we find that it does make a difference,” Ms O’Hare added.

“So there’s an important conversation there to have with employers.

“I know the real living wage campaign is working away at pace in Northern Ireland, so those are some of the things that really need to be considered in the labour market.”

Source: Belfast Telegraph

(Quotes via original reporting)