There's been a big jump in the number of Canberrans barely managing to make ends meet.
Before the pandemic, there were about 30,000 people in the ACT who were on incomes as low as $450 a week, the level usually taken as defining poverty.
That group of people in hardship has risen to between 40,000 and 50,000 since COVID struck, with its lockdowns and disruption to the economy.
Many of those on the lowest incomes are the working poor - people in jobs which pay little and which may be precarious.
The analysis comes from research conducted for the Snow Foundation and Hands Across Canberra, two organisations which raise and allocate funds and other help for the most vulnerable people.
The report, Vital Signs 2021, pinpoints children as big sufferers. Almost half of all children (44 per cent) of those in single parent families fall below poverty levels.
Nearly one in ten Canberrans are poor, according to the analysis.
"We have a reputation of being one of the most liveable cities in the country, and there is a strong sense of belonging," the chief executive of Hands Across Canberra, Peter Gordon, said.
"Yet we are also one of the most expensive and there is a 38,000 (or 9 per cent of our population) living in poverty.
"This is something we need to work on."
This level of poverty is despite Canberra having the highest average weekly earnings in Australia.
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Mr Gordon said that Canberrans were known for generosity, and the figures bore that out: on average, they give $400 a year to good causes but often those causes are outside the ACT.
He wanted more people to see the need outside their own windows and to give locally.
"The large majority of ACT residents find this area and the broader Canberra region to be highly liveable, and the majority of those from non-English speaking backgrounds say this place is very welcoming," Mr Gordon said.
"However, there is much we need to do to ensure that those who experience economic and social disadvantage are not left behind, especially as we begin our recovery from COVID-19."
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Steve Evans
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
