Armut trotz regelmäßiger Erwerbstätigkeit

For the period 1999–2018, this article analyses the labour market and socio-structural developments of regularly employed people who live below or above the poverty line. The analysis shows an increasing proportion of the regularly employed to be living above the poverty line whereas regular employment among those living below the poverty line has not significantly increased. An above-average number of women increased their labour market participation – many in the form of mini-jobs. Wage developments show that those in continuous employment and not living below the poverty line benefited from wage increases in the twenty year period, whereas this was not the case for those living below the poverty line. In fact, their real hourly wages declined between 1999 and 2012. The analysis of qualification levels since 2006 shows that in the group of the continuously employed, the proportion of the employed without a vocational qualification has increased and in the same period of time, the risk of poverty for this group has also increased. Overall, this analysis reveals that continuous employment does not protect employees against income poverty and (political) measures are necessary.