This report uses the most recent data available to provide a comprehensive account of poverty based on the Social Metrics Commission’s (SMC) framework for measuring poverty. Whilst this is the most up-to-date data available, it was collected between April 2018 and March 2019.
To support this analysis the Commission has also worked with YouGov to conduct original research with close to 80,000 people polled during March and May 2020 from across Great Britain. This asked them how the Covid-19 crisis has impacted on their financial situation, their attitudes towards
society and experiences of loneliness and the extent to which they are confident about the future.
The Commission will be publishing full results from this work in a report in the coming weeks. Before then, initial results presented in this report show some concerning trends.
In particular, the report shows how those employed prior to the Covid-19 crisis have fared since then in terms of their employment and earnings. It splits the population based on their pre-Covid-19 household income, between those:
• In deep poverty (more than 50% below the poverty line);
• In poverty and less than 50% below the poverty line;
• Just above (within 20%) the poverty line; and
• More than 20% above the poverty line.
It clearly shows that the largest employment impact
