Working poor crisis affects 1.4 million Catalan workers despite employment, according to a major new study.

Càritas and the FOESSA Foundation reveal that job insecurity has become “the new normal” for a significant portion of society, with even employed individuals struggling to escape poverty.

Furthermore, the research indicates that global economic improvements aren’t translating into better daily living conditions for many families.

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Consequently, poverty now affects households where members are employed, with some unable to make ends meet even when receiving social benefits.

Working Poor Crisis Deepens Social Inequality

Meanwhile, wage increases fail to keep pace with rising consumer prices and housing costs. Additionally, job precarity, forced reduced hours, and barriers facing immigrants in irregular situations compound the problem. Many families consequently spend over half their income on rent or mortgages simply to avoid homelessness.

The study, presented this Thursday, identifies Catalonia as having one of Europe’s highest inequality rates. This reinforces key vulnerability channels including housing, employment, health, and social networks. Moreover, 8.5% of workers now face social exclusion – a concept extending beyond material scarcity.

Families at risk of exclusion have significantly worsened since 2018 for several reasons. Those in precarious or marginal jobs have more than doubled from 3.1% to 7.9%. Similarly, employment without contracts or social security contributions has grown to 9.6%.

This situation particularly affects women, young people, and immigrants who remain excluded from improvements introduced in the latest labour reform. The housing crisis compounds these challenges, as highlighted in recent warnings about expiring rental contracts.

According to the Ara.cat investigation, the traditional stereotype of poverty as affecting single men surviving on the streets is being shattered. While homelessness remains a serious issue, two million people now face residential exclusion affecting families with disabled children, single mothers, elderly individuals, and those living in substandard housing.

Salvador Busquets, director of Càritas Catalunya, stated that “housing has ceased to be a protective factor” and called for redistributive fiscal policies and a state housing pact. Study coordinator Raúl Flores confirmed that systemic failures, not individual shortcomings, drive this crisis.

Three out of four families in severe exclusion do everything possible to improve their situation through work, education, or inclusion programmes. However, they ultimately “collide with structural barriers” including inadequate support and complex bureaucracy across hundreds of social benefits.

The report also confirms that poverty is increasingly hereditary – children born into families with serious social problems will likely become adults facing similar challenges. Nevertheless, it also identifies vulnerable adults who were raised in better economic conditions, indicating reduced life opportunities across society.

The Network for Attention to Homeless People in Barcelona (XAPSLL) warns that “much more work” is needed to address homelessness and demands greater commitment from governments and municipalities to tackle this phenomenon from a “country perspective.” This working poor crisis represents a fundamental challenge to social cohesion throughout Catalonia.

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