Poverty and employment status

Last updated: August 2026

Next estimated update: May 2027

What does this indicator show?

This indicator shows the employment status of all working age Londoners in poverty. By looking at the percentage of people in poverty who are employed, we can see the prevalence of in-work poverty in London.

What does it tell us?

Nearly half (46%) of working-age Londoners in poverty are employed. Just below half (47%) of those in poverty in London are economically inactive (retired, long-term sick, studying or looking after the home). Another 7% are unemployed.

This means that compared to last year, Londoners in work make up a smaller proportion of people in poverty. However, when we look at the underlying numbers, this isn't driven by a reduction in in-work poverty.

Instead:

• The number of people in employment and in poverty is not much different, having increased by an estimated 20,000 people
• But the number of economically inactive people in poverty has gone up significantly more - by around 110,000
• This means that although the number of people employed and in poverty in London has gone up, they make up a smaller proportion of the total number of people in poverty.
• The number of people unemployed and in poverty - which means those that are actively looking for work - is also not much different from last year having increased by 30,000.

This could mean that poverty is going up in London, largely driven by a rise in people out of work. However, it could also be a quirk in the data: further data points are needed. We explore some of these questions in our recent analysis.

Longer-term trends

In the decade pre-covid, the proportion of people in poverty who were employed went up slightly - from 43% in 2012/13 to 50% in 2019/20. The proportion of people who were economically inactive and in poverty remained fairly stable over the same pre-covid period at around 42%..

In contrast, since 2012/13, the proportion of people in poverty who are unemployed - that is, not working but actively seeking work - declined from 17% to 7%