A NEW report by the York-based Joseph Rowntree Foundation has revealed a rapidly changing picture of poverty in the UK as the economic recovery gathers pace.

It says there has been a big rise in the proportion of under-25s living in poverty but a big fall among the over-75s.

And it calculates that while the employment rate in the UK is now close to an historic high, two thirds of people who moved from unemployment into work in the last year are paid below the Living Wage.

It says incomes are lower on average than a decade ago and average wages for men working full time dropped in real terms from £13.90 to £12.90 per hour between 2008 and 2013. For women, wages fell from £10.80 per hour to £10.30 in the same period.

“There has been a vast increase in insecure work – zero hours contracts, part time work and low-paid self-employment, which means that getting a job does not necessarily mean getting out of poverty,” said a foundation spokeswoman.

She said that because of a lack of social housing, more people in poverty were living with insecure tenancies in the private rented sector.

She said the annual report, Monitoring Poverty and Social Exclusion, written by the New Policy Institute, was the most up-to-date and comprehensive guide to the state of the nation ahead of next year’s General Election.

Foundation chief executive Julia Unwin said the report showed a real change in UK society over a relatively short period of time.

“We are concerned that the economic recovery we face will still have so many people living in poverty,” she said.

“It is a risk, waste and cost we cannot afford: we will never reach our full economic potential with so many people struggling to make ends meet.

“A comprehensive strategy is needed to tackle poverty in the UK. It must tackle the root causes of poverty, such as low pay and the high cost of essentials.

“This research in particular demonstrates that affordable housing has to be part of the answer to tackling poverty: all main political parties need to focus now on providing more decent, affordable homes for people on low incomes.”