In Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras and Paraguay, the rise in the income of poor households came mainly from the labour market, in particular from a gain in the average income received by workers. In several of these countries, employment rates edged up among poor households, and in Paraguay the number of labour income earners in fact declined. In these three countries, the rise was due more to an increase in the number of recipients than in the average amount received, which actually fell in Peru in the period under review. This was because of the increase in income from imputed rent, a source which does not reflect income actually received, but the in-kind benefit accruing to households which own the dwelling in which they reside.