The charity's study discovered that 8.1 million people earned less than the Minimum Income Standard in 2012/2013, which means many families can not afford to enjoy the socially accepted standard of living.
Single parent families are suffering most acutely with a whopping 71% recorded as living below the Minimum Income Standard.
Commenting on the statistics, chair of the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission, Alan Milburn said: "Despite very strong employment growth and record low worklessness, the number of people in families with children who are unable to attain what the public believe to be a minimum standard of living has increased by 2.2 million - more than a third- since the start of the recession, with the majority of the increase in working households."
The charity acknowledges that last year's study indicated the financial difficulties experienced by young people, but they are now keen to highlight the struggles experienced by families.
Discussing the results of the study,Kate Schmuecker, policy manager at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said: "While last year's monitoring report showed a sharp rise in young single people struggling to make ends meet, this year's report shows a rapid widening of the gap between incomes and the costs of families with children."
These findings may not come as a shock to many after recent reports suggested that many parents were considering altering their work/life balance in an effort to meet childcare costs.
