Higher risk of poverty among low-skilled workers in Germany

Low-skilled people in Germany have a higher risk of poverty in 2014 than in 2005, said German federal statistical office Destatis on Thursday.

According to microcensus results, 30.8 percent of low-skilled people aged 25 or over were at risk of poverty in Germany in 2014, higher than the rate of 23.1 percent in 2005.

The proportion of low-skilled people at risk of poverty in what used to be the states of East Germany was 37.5 percent, considerably higher than that of former West Germany, at 29.8 percent, Destatis reported.

People who make less than 60 percent of median income, including what they receive in government aid, are considered at risk of poverty in Germany, said Destatis.

In 2014, the threshold for one-person households in Germany was less than 917 euros (1,032 U.S. dollars) a month, according to German media Spiegel Online.