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Greece in Poverty
Greece has been hit hard with recession and the austerity measures that have been put in place and poverty has increased. Those living in extreme poverty rose to 15% in 2015, up from 8.9% in 2011, and a huge increase from 2009 when it wasn’t more than 2.2%. Those people at risk for poverty or social exclusion was one in three or 35.7%. The rate among children 0-17 is 17.6% and for young people 18-29 the rate is 24.4%. With unemployment on the rise, those without jobs are at the highest risk at 70-75%, up from less than 50% in 2011. With jobs harder and harder to come by, a quarter of the population is out of work, and for people under 25 the rate is 50%. In some harder hit areas of western Greece, the younger generation unemployment rate is more than 60%. When people are out of work for more than two years, they lose their health insurance, further increasing the problems of those in poverty. When younger people are out of work, they rely on the older generations of their families to provide for them to get them through the hard times. However, long term unemployment across the country causes pension funds to decrease because they are getting less money from the working population, so those older generations are getting less money to provide for the younger generations and their entire families, putting more of them in poverty. Many aspects of the economic problems add to the problem. The Greek people have continued job loss and wage cuts, as well as deep cuts in workers compensation and social welfare benefits. For those who are working, their wages have dropped. From 2008 to 2013, Greeks have become 40% poorer on average, and in 2014 saw their disposable household income drop below 2003 levels. The Economic Survey of Greece 2016 shows optimism in a stronger recovery in 2017 by using things like the reforms in place and outside investment in jobs to help change the course of the high levels of poverty.

Italy in poverty
In 2015, poverty in Italy hit the high levels in the previous 10 years. The numbers of those in absolute poverty rose nearly an entire percent in 2015, from 6.8% in 2014, to 7.6% in 2015. In the south of Italy the numbers are even higher with 10% living in absolute poverty, up from 9 percent in 2014. The north is better off at 6.7%, but still an increase from 5.7% in 2014. The national statics reporting agency, ISTAT, defines absolute poverty as those who can’t buy goods and services which they need to survive. In 2015, the proportion of poor households in relative poverty also increased in 2015 to 13.7 from 12.9 in 2014. ISTAT defines relative poverty as people whose disposable income is less than around half the national average. The unemployment rate in February 2016 remained at 11.7%, which has been the same for almost a year, but even having a job doesn’t guarantee freedom from poverty. Those who have at least one family employed still suffer from 6.1% to 11.7% poverty, the higher number being for those who have factory jobs. The numbers are even higher for the younger generations because their unemployment rate is over 40%. Also, children are hit hard. In 2014, 32% of those aged 0-17 are at risk of poverty or social exclusion, which is one child out of three. While this is down from 34% in 2012, it is still higher than the average of 27% for children in this age group in other countries in the European Union.

Italy's Welfare
Italy’s welfare system expenditures favor the elderly and middle aged for pensions and those who have worked in the formal workforce, especially those employed by large industrial companies. The younger generation is left in the lurch as many of them, even those with higher educations and degrees, have never been able to find a job and must rely on their parents for support. Those who can get a job often take temporary work, lower paying jobs, and jobs which have nothing to do with their education. The unemployment rate for Italy’s youth is over 40% One of the places where Italy’s welfare system pays a lot of money, over $900 million in 1995, is for mothers. Women are given maternity leave for two months before birth to three months after and are paid 80% of their salary. They are also offered an additional six months leave if they choose, and their jobs must be guaranteed for one year.