Report: 90% of children rescued from poverty are of non-Western origin, and this is the explanation

Report: 90% of children rescued from poverty are of non-Western origin, and this is the explanation

Since 2019, child poverty in Denmark has been declining significantly, and it now appears that this is largely due to the fact that many children of immigrants and non-Western grandchildren have been lifted out of poverty. In contrast, only a small number of children of Danish origin have escaped poverty in the last five years.

This is evident from the figures and data released by Arbejderbevegelsens Erhvervsråd (AE), which has just published research entitled Distribution and Living Conditions 2023 on child poverty in Denmark.

According to AE analyst Sune Caspersen, this trend reflects a significant difference between groups when looking at relatively poor children of Danish origin and those of non-Western descent, stating that “there are certain characteristics that distinguish them.” The figures are as follows: from 2019 to 2021, there were 10,650 relatively poor children in Denmark. Of these, approximately 9,000 were children of immigrants or non-Western descendants. This means that nearly nine out of ten children who escaped poverty had a non-Danish ethnic background. More than half of the relatively poor children in 2019 came from a non-Western background, and thus the decline among children of immigrants and non-Western descendants is also relatively greater than among children of Danish origin.

According to Sune Caspersen, the improvement is primarily due to the fact that a much larger number of people have entered the workforce and thus moved away from the well-known welfare system that leads many citizens into poverty. He said: “You are likely to find that a large part of this decline is really due to good economic conditions, and that the labor market is absorbing people who are not usually in the front row.”.

Jacob Nielsen Arndt is a research professor and head of labor market research at the Rockwool Foundation. He describes the report as “interesting” and also explains the significant decline in poverty with the historically high growth in employment among immigrants and their descendants, many of whom come from low-income backgrounds. Thus, it could be argued that policy initially created the poverty problem for those who have now entered the workforce.

Although the decline is much greater among children of non-Western origin, they still make up more than half of the poor child population in Denmark. In 2021, there were therefore 27,220 children of non-Western immigrants and their descendants living below the poverty line, and 23,340 children of Danish origin.

The least fortunate group
When economic conditions fail to lift more children of Danish origin out of poverty, according to Sonny Caspersen, it may indicate that their families are facing problems far greater than unemployment: “They are a socially disadvantaged group, which explains why they cling to their status more, despite a high level of employment,” she says, adding: “There are also many vulnerable people among the poor of non-Western origin. But on the other hand, there is also a relatively large proportion for whom the biggest challenge is finding a job.” She shares this analysis with Jacob Nielsen Arndt, who emphasizes that social and psychological problems are relatively more pronounced and long-lasting among Danish families living in relative poverty: “Substance abuse, mental health disorders, and other deep-seated, long-term problems can be present, in addition to unemployment.”.

Social Democratic Party comment
The Social Democratic Party's employment spokesperson, Jens Goel, described it as a positive development that many immigrants and their non-Western descendants had found work. He also believes it may be a result of the policies implemented during this period, saying, "We are not simply slaves to the cycles of business. We can also do something.".

Jens Goel notes that the Social Democratic government, for example, insisted on not opening up too much to attract more foreign workers to solve the labor shortage. He said, “We stuck to and insisted on a balance that said we were open to some from abroad, but we would also try to bring the long-term unemployed or those facing other challenges out of the cash assistance system and into the labor market. It’s not just about immigrants and their descendants; we’ve brought in more people, and the number of long-term unemployed, which has halved, is an indication that employers are looking very cautiously at the pile of unemployed people.” (Source: information.com).

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