"Job increase did not reduce poverty rate"
A lot of new jobs have been created by the Michel government, but still this has hardly helped to combat poverty. That's according to the Leuven Institute for Labour (HIVA). About 40,000 people who managed to find employment over the past 10 years, are still finding it hard to make ends meet. This rate of so-called "working poor" is among the lowest in the EU, but figures are going up.
Researcher Ides Nicaise says that the extra jobs that were created are often not high-quality jobs. "40 percent of the new jobs are part-time, half of them are low-paid, and about half of them are just temporary." This makes people more vulnerable, Nicaise adds.
At the same time, the situation of the unemployed has deteriorated, says the HIVA. About 10 years ago, some 30 percent of those out of work was living in poverty. Now, this has risen to 45 percent.