BALTIMORE: The number of people living on unacceptably low incomes has risen dramatically since 2008, a major report has shown.
The report says minimum income standard (MIS) is the income that people need in order to reach a minimum ‘socially acceptable’ standard of living.
It is calculated by specifying baskets of goods and services required by different types of household in order to meet these needs and to participate in society.
According to the report, people living in the rented sector have a ‘far greater and generally growing risk’ of living below the MIS, compared to those who own their own home.
Those in the rented sector face the greatest risk of being below MIS, where nearly 50% of households are below this level.
The report further found that people living in the deepest poverty – those living on less than half the MIS – tended to live in social housing, accounting for 39% in 2012/13, up from 35% in 2008/09…