Almost 700,000 people flung into poverty due to pandemic crisis in the U.K: Study

According to a recent study, nearly 700,000 individuals in the United Kingdom, including 120,000 children, have been flung back into poverty as a result of the pandemic.

This study by the Legatum Institute stated that government intervention, such as a £20 per week universal credit boost, helped 700,000 people from slipping below rhe poverty line.

However, the onset of the pandemic pushed the total number of poverty stricken individuals in the United Kingdom to more than 15 million, or 23 percent of the population.

Philippa Stroud, Chief Executive of the Legatum Institute and Conservative politician, stated that the study's findings showed “a clear need for a comprehensive anti-poverty strategy to be placed at the heart of the UK’s Covid recovery response”.

This new analysis uses a broad spectrum of data, including public earnings and employment data, to provide robust poverty estimates that can be updated as circumstances change.

The study revealed that those hardest hit by the pandemic and the subsequent economic crisis, were young workers, especially those in relatively low-paid jobs in sectors such as retail and hospitality. The elderly were the least financially impacted, according to the study.

Furthermore, of the 700,000 people newly thrust into poverty, nearly 40% of the individuals slipped into what is known as deep poverty.