The number of jobs failing to pay workers the “real” living wage has increased by 300,000 to more than 6 million, according to new research.
Just over one in five employees in the UK are now paid less than the voluntary sums of £10.20 an hour in London and £8.75 outside the capital – rates set by the Living Wage Foundation.
Just under 3 million full-time and 3.3 million part-time jobs are paying less than people need to meet their living costs, the latest analysis of Office for National Statistics data shows.
The figures show women are particularly badly affected by low pay: 28 per cent of all female employees are paid below the real living wage. The areas found to be worst hit by this kind of in-work poverty are Northern Ireland, the East Midlands, Wales, Yorkshire and the Humber, and the northeast. More than 25 per cent of workers in these regions remain stuck on low pay that fails to cover living costs.
“An increasing number of people are struggling to keep their heads above water on wages that don’t meet the basic costs and pressures of everyday life,” said Tess Lanning, director of the Living Wage Foundation. Ms Lanning called on more businesses to join the movement for a real living wage. “This rising problem of low pay means that it’s more important than ever that major employers step up and commit to pay a real living wage, not just the government minimum,” she said.
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