POVERTY among young people and working families in Wales is on the rise due to low salaries and shortening working hours, economists revealed yesterday.

A new report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) and the New Policy Institute showed that while child and pensioner poverty has fallen, Welsh workers are now poorer than they were 10 years ago.

According to the report 700,000 people — 23 per cent of the Welsh population — are living in poverty.