FIGURES from the European statistics agency, EUROSTAT, show that 47 percent of unemployed Slovaks are living below the poverty line, the daily SME reported.
That is a higher percentage than in Slovakia’s neighbouring states. In the Czech Republic 30 percent and in Hungary 31 percent of unemployed people live below the poverty line.
Tatra banka analyst Robert Prega said that the high level of unemployment and long-term unemployment in particular are behind the poverty. "The proportion of long-termed unemployed in Slovakia is rather high. These people draw social benefits which fall depending on the length of unemployment," he told the daily.
According to the EU definition of poverty, a poor person is one whose income is less than three fifths of the national median wage. The median wage is calculated as a middle value of income achieved by half of the nation's inhabitants. In Slovakia a poor person therefore earns less than Sk8,452 per month (€212.5).
The Eurostat data reveals that the best conditions for the unemployed are in Sweden, Finland, and Denmark.
Compiled by Martina Jurinová from press reports
TheSlovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the informationpresented in its Flash News postings.
