Young men in Scotland are facing similar levels of poverty as children, according to a new report by the Scottish Health Equity Research Unit. After housing costs, more than one in five (22%) Scottish men aged 18 to 44 were living in poverty in 2021-24 compared to 23% of children, an increase from 19% pre-pandemic.
Young men in Scotland are facing similar levels of poverty as children, according to a new report by the Scottish Health Equity Research Unit. After housing costs, more than one in five (22%) Scottish men aged 18 to 44 were living in poverty in 2021-24 compared to 23% of children, an increase from 19% pre-pandemic.
Young adult men facing socio-economic deprivation are at inordinately high risk of experiencing early, preventable deaths, particularly those relating to drugs, alcohol, and suicide. These ‘deaths of despair’ are also more prevalent in Scotland than they are in other UK nations. Comparing poverty rates in Scotland and the rest of the UK (rUK) – and explaining the differences between them – can shed light on the underlying determinants that are responsible for these negative outcomes.
Examining relative poverty before and after housing costs have been subtracted from household income – measures which the Scottish Health Equity Research Unit refer to as poverty BHC and AHC respectively – the report finds:
Poverty among young adult men in Scotland has risen sharply since the pandemic and is now higher than in rUK. AHC poverty rates were generally lower in Scotland than in rUK before the pandemic, while the opposite was the case on the BHC measure. After the pandemic, poverty rates on both measures increased by several percentage points in Scotland while falling slightly in rUK. This has led to Scotland overtaking rUK on the AHC measure; the difference is not statistically significant, although significant differences do emerge when examining particular sub-groups. Meanwhile the gap in BHC rates has widened to become statistically significant in the latest period (2021-24).
The post-pandemic rise in poverty among young adult men has not affected women in the same age bracket, nor has it been observed to the same extent in any other UK region. Indeed, the divergence in poverty rates between Scotland and rUK among young adult men has also represented a divergence in poverty rates within Scotland between young adult men and young adult women, who previously faced relatively similar risks of living in poverty. The AHC poverty rate among young adult men is now higher in Scotland than in any other UK region, while the BHC poverty rate is second only to Wales, having previously been around the cross-regional average.
The increase in poverty among young adult men, and the resulting gap with rUK, was driven by an increase in poverty risk among those aged 18-24, those who are out of work, and those who are single without children. These men often live with other adults such as parents or housemates, who provide the majority of household income. The income of these other adults has reduced in Scotland – particularly in terms of earnings, reflecting a real-terms fall in hourly wages – but not in rUK. Further research is needed to understand why this specific group has experienced wage stagnation in recent years.