Working poor - Bringing them into the net

Key elements of the EU’s strategy to combat social exclusion are the promotion of quality of work and the eradication of poverty; however, the persistence of in-work poverty – people who fall below the poverty level while being employed – seem to undermine these goals. Having a paid job is usually regarded as a guarantee of being able to meet one’s own and one’s household’s needs. However, data from the EU-SILC survey for 2007 shows that, in the EU27, the disposable income of 8% of those aged 18 and over in employment – more than 15 million people – is not enough to lift them out of poverty.