National Minimum Wage

Contents
Commissioners’ Introduction vi
Executive Summary ix
Recommendations xvi
List of Figures xvii
List of Tables xix
1 The Economic Context to the October 2011 Upratings 1
Introduction 1
2011 National Minimum Wage Upratings 1
The UK Economy in 2011 3
Gross Domestic Product Growth 3
Spending, Investment and Trade 5
Prices, Settlements and Earnings 8
Employment and Unemployment 13
Productivity 15
Real Wages 16
Profits 17
Revised Forecasts for 2011 and 2012 18
Conclusion 19
2 The Impact of the National Minimum Wage 21
Introduction 21
National Minimum Wage Jobs 21
Views on Regional Variations 25
National Minimum Wage Workers 25
Impact on Earnings and Pay 27
National Minimum Wage Relative to Prices and Earnings 27
Earnings Distributions 36
Pay Gaps 41
Pay Settlements and Pay Structures 43
Research on Earnings and Pay 45
Views on Earnings and Pay 46
Summary on Earnings and Pay 48
Impact on the Labour Market 48
Employment and Employee Jobs 48
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