Getting a job lifts more people out of poverty in Britain than anywhere in Europe, a new study reveals. More than seven in 10 people in the UK were no longer in poverty after finding work, compared to the EU average of just half. Ministers said the figures showed Britain was leading the way in proving that work is the best route out of being poor. Seven in 10 people in the UK were no longer classed as poor after finding work, compared to the EU average of just half . In work poverty rates have been lower in the UK than the EU average every year since 2006, the figures show . The Office for National Statistics examined figures for every European country to analyse the impact getting a job can have on people classed as poor. It found gaining employment helped far more people out of poverty than the rest of the continent. Someone is classed as living in poverty if their disposable income is less than 60 per cent of the national average. People living in 'in-work poverty' are both below the poverty threshold and in employment themselves. For the EU as a whole, only half of people (49 per cent) left poverty when they got a job in 2009, according to analysis carried out by the European Commission. Detailed figures by country suggest the UK has a higher poverty exit rate for people getting a job than almost any other country examined. The ONS said: 'The percentage of people who moved out of poverty when entering employment in the UK was relatively stable and well above the EU average throughout the period 2007 to 2012, with an exit rate of 68 per cent in 2007 to 2009, compared with 73 per cent in 2010 to 2012.' By contrast, the poverty exit rate was lowest in Romania just 23 per cent of people left poverty after getting a job. In Bulgaria just 36 per cent were lifted out of poverty and Spain 37 per cent. In Sweden the figure was 70 per cent, followed by Portugal (66 per cent), Lithuania (64 per cent) and Luxembourg and Estonia, both 62 per cent. The Tories have argued that the introduction of Universal Credit, which combines six benefits into one, will ensure that work always pays and is guaranteed to lift people out of poverty if they get a job. Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said the research showed work is the best route out of poverty . Increasing hours and getting a pay rise were key routes to moving out of in work poverty, the ONS said . Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said: 'Our welfare reforms are designed to support people to move off benefits and into a job - to move from dependence to independence. 'We've always known that work is the best route out of poverty - and we now see that this is more pronounced in the UK compared to rest of Europe. 'We have more people in work than ever before, and poverty in this country is at the lowest level since the mid 1980's. 'Universal Credit will build on this record - ensuring sure work always pays, and making three million households better off.' According to the ONS, 8 per cent of working people aged 18-64 were in poverty in 2013, some 3million in total. By contrast 31 per cent of those not in work were in poverty. The data shows people taking up full-time jobs of 30 or more hours per week are more likely to move out of poverty when entering employment (76 per cent) than those who get a part-time job (62 per cent). Whether a job is permamnent or temporary makes little difference to the impact on someone being in poverty. The ONS added: 'Unsurprisingly, those moving out of poverty have a substantially higher rate of hourly pay than those who remain below the poverty threshold. This is the case for both full-time and part-time workers.'
Seven in 10 Britons moved out of poverty after entering employment . Average across the European Union was less than half, figures show . Poverty exit rate was lowest in Romania where just 23% were helped . Iain Duncan Smith says work is always 'the best route out of poverty'