The foundation is warning that families in Scotland face the immediate challenge of making ends meet over the coming winter and that both the Scottish and UK Governments must step up to support those families. But they also warn of structural issues that underpin these impossible choices for households.

The State of the Nation report focuses on the increasing trend of in-work poverty and highlights who is most likely to experience it and in which industries they work.

The report found that over one in 10 workers in Scotland are trapped in low-paid work, meaning they were paid below the Real Living Wage for at least four in five years. At the same time, over seven in 10 workers who are trapped in persistent low pay are women. Seven in 10 are single adults.

Two in three children in poverty in Scotland have one or more parent in work, and of all people in poverty where someone in their family works, nearly three in four have one or more people in their family working in retail, hospitality, health and social work, administrative and support services, and/or manufacturing.

The report indicated that 110,000 people in working families are pulled into poverty due to their housing costs, i.e. their income is enough to escape poverty but their housing costs pull them back in.

Simultaneously, people from a minority ethnic background experience a rate of in-work poverty that is more than three times that of the rate for white workers.

While JRF expects the Scottish Child Payment to put child poverty back on a downward trajectory, JRF says Scotland needs a “vibrant and accessible” labour market to successfully lift people out of poverty. They highlight that the “work first” approach of the current UK Government has failed to reduce poverty in the UK. A large part of that has been the concurrent withering of the level of in-work social security support through Universal Credit.

Chris Birt, JRF associate director for Scotland, said: “The Scottish Government can still meet its child poverty reduction targets but it needs to get a move on. While the Scottish Child Payment is providing crucial support to families and starting to drive poverty down again, it isn’t enough.

“A major reason for that is the failure of work to be a reliable route out of poverty, particularly for women. Some of our biggest industries are trapping people in low pay, unreliable hours and underemployment. There are things governments can, and should do, but businesses need to engage with their workforces to ensure that employees are able to secure an income that supports them to get by.

“At the same time decision makers are sleepwalking towards another winter that promises to be crushing for households across Scotland. The Scottish Government will need to react to this in their forthcoming budget, but the UK Government in particular seems to believe that the cost-of-living crisis is over. They are wrong.

“We want to see the UK Government come through for the Scottish people by embracing the Essentials Guarantee which would improve the lives of people across these islands.”