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One in eight Germans living in poverty

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-05-20 10:46

BERLIN - A poverty report released by the German government on Monday said that about 13 percent of the German population live at or below the official poverty-line of 781 euros (US$1,200) per month.

The report also found another 13 percent of the 82.5 million Germans are prevented from falling into the category of the poor just because of state benefits such as unemployment benefit.

While the income of the rich increasing, the income of the poor people have decreased slightly, and middle-class incomes are stagnating, the report showed.

The hardest hit are long-term unemployed and single parents along with their children.

In issuing the report, German Labor Minister Olaf Scholz said that introducing more minimum wages should be "an important program to fight poverty."

Germany's conservative politicians, however, argue that more minimum wages would kill jobs and the best solution to poverty should be a successful growth and employment policy.