Getting a job lifts more people out of poverty in Britain than anywhere in Europe , a new study reveals . More than seven in 10 people in the UK were no longer in poverty after finding work , compared to the EU average of just half . Ministers said the figures showed Britain was leading the way in proving that work is the best route out of being poor . Seven in 10 people in the UK were no longer classed as poor after finding work , compared to the EU average of just half . In work poverty rates have been lower in the UK than the EU average every year since 2006 , the figures show . The Office for National Statistics examined figures for every European country to analyse the impact getting a job can have on people classed as poor . It found gaining employment helped far more people out of poverty than the rest of the continent . Someone is classed as living in poverty if their disposable income is less than 60 per cent of the national average . People living in 'in-work poverty ' are both below the poverty threshold and in employment themselves . For the EU as a whole , only half of people ( 49 per cent ) left poverty when they got a job in 2009 , according to analysis carried out by the European Commission . Detailed figures by country suggest the UK has a higher poverty exit rate for people getting a job than almost any other country examined . The ONS said : 'The percentage of people who moved out of poverty when entering employment in the UK was relatively stable and well above the EU average throughout the period 2007 to 2012 , with an exit rate of 68 per cent in 2007 to 2009 , compared with 73 per cent in 2010 to 2012 . ' By contrast , the poverty exit rate was lowest in Romania just 23 per cent of people left poverty after getting a job . In Bulgaria just 36 per cent were lifted out of poverty and Spain 37 per cent . In Sweden the figure was 70 per cent , followed by Portugal ( 66 per cent ) , Lithuania ( 64 per cent ) and Luxembourg and Estonia , both 62 per cent . The Tories have argued that the introduction of Universal Credit , which combines six benefits into one , will ensure that work always pays and is guaranteed to lift people out of poverty if they get a job . Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said the research showed work is the best route out of poverty . Increasing hours and getting a pay rise were key routes to moving out of in work poverty , the ONS said . Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said : 'Our welfare reforms are designed to support people to move off benefits and into a job - to move from dependence to independence . 'We 've always known that work is the best route out of poverty - and we now see that this is more pronounced in the UK compared to rest of Europe . 'We have more people in work than ever before , and poverty in this country is at the lowest level since the mid 1980 's . 'Universal Credit will build on this record - ensuring sure work always pays , and making three million households better off . ' According to the ONS , 8 per cent of working people aged 18-64 were in poverty in 2013 , some 3million in total . By contrast 31 per cent of those not in work were in poverty . The data shows people taking up full-time jobs of 30 or more hours per week are more likely to move out of poverty when entering employment ( 76 per cent ) than those who get a part-time job ( 62 per cent ) . Whether a job is permamnent or temporary makes little difference to the impact on someone being in poverty . The ONS added : 'Unsurprisingly , those moving out of poverty have a substantially higher rate of hourly pay than those who remain below the poverty threshold . This is the case for both full-time and part-time workers . '
Seven in 10 Britons moved out of poverty after entering employment . Average across the European Union was less than half , figures show . Poverty exit rate was lowest in Bulgaria where just 23 % were helped . Iain Duncan Smith says work is always 'the best route out of poverty '