with at least one member being a union member (31.5 percent versus 17.1 percent, respectively) is
higher among the in-work non-poor compared with the in-work poor households.
Table 11. Additional labour market characteristics and in-work poverty rate
Mean weekly hours
Main earner works full-time (≥ 30 per week)
Underemployment
Permanent contract
Union membership
In-work non-poor
39.3
(9.4)
92.8%
6.4%
97.2%
31.5%
In-work poor
29.7
(13.8)
58.6%
14.4%
84.6%
17.1%
Source: HLFS 2017 September quarter. Notes: Std dev in parenthesis. Sample size of 7,836 working households.
4.8 Income sources
Here we look at the main income sources for working households (poor and non-poor) and present
these disaggregated by household structure. Figure 9 shows the mean proportion of total household
income that stems from wages and salaries; benefits; pensions (superannuation); WfF and AS; and
other sources (which encompass withholding payments, student allowance, paid parental leave and
ACC claims). We find that independent of household structure, on average 90 percent of household
income is generated by wages and salaries for households that are in-work non-poor (the two
exceptions are single-parent households (at 80 percent), and two or more family households (at
78 percent)). This share declines substantially for in-work poor households: for example, 48 percent
of household income for in-work poor single-parent households comes from wages and salaries
compared to an average of 80 percent for their non-poor equivalents (a difference of 32 percentage
points). The difference in income sources between in-work poor households and in-work non-poor
households has also been explored using UK data by Hick and Lanau (2018b).
Noticeably, Figure 9 shows that the prominence of alternative sources of income for in-work poor
households is heterogeneous across different household structures. Benefit receipt plays a greater
role for single-parent households, for two or more family households and for one-person households,
relative to couples with or without child(ren). Pensions play an important role in couple without
children households. Furthermore, we find that income from WfF and AS are especially relevant for
couple with child(ren), single-parent and two or more family households: in all three cases, the share
exceeds 10 percent.
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