Northern Ireland has the highest levels of child poverty in the UK.
The causes of poverty are complex and interlinked 2.5 Poverty rarely has a single cause but is a consequence of a range of factors including rising living costs, low pay, lack of work and inadequate social security benefits. In 2014, a DWP review found that parental worklessness and low earnings were key factors driving child poverty. Whilst the unemployment rate in Northern Ireland is relatively low at just over two per cent, economic inactivity levels in Northern Ireland are amongst the highest in the UK. The inactivity rate (the proportion of people aged 16 to 64 who are not working and not seeking or available to work) in Northern Ireland is 26 per cent, compared to 21 per cent in England, 22 per cent in Scotland and 26 per cent in Wales. 2.6 The number of children in poverty in Northern Ireland who live in a household where at least one adult works is significant. Therefore, the quality of jobs and low wages play an important role in keeping children in poverty. The Social Mobility Commission reports that qualification levels, wages, the proportion of high-paid jobs and the rate of job creation are all lower in NI than the UK average, and that one quarter of jobs here pay less than the Real Living Wage. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation reports that lone parents have the highest level of in-work poverty of all family types and are likely to face barriers such as working in a low-wage sector, working fewer hours and being restricted by access to childcare and transport.