National Minimum Wage
National Minimum Wage
National Minimum Wage
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<strong>National</strong> <strong>Minimum</strong> <strong>Wage</strong><br />
2.10 We find a similar pattern in the low-paying industries. Around a quarter of minimum wage<br />
jobs were not to be found in any of our defined low-paying industries. In April 2011, the<br />
largest numbers of minimum wage jobs were in hospitality (290,000) and retail (232,000),<br />
and together they accounted for around 45 per cent of minimum wage jobs. Employment<br />
agencies, social care and cleaning each accounted for around 6 per cent of minimum wage<br />
jobs (64,000-73,000 in each case). The numbers for cleaning are much smaller using the<br />
industrial definition than the numbers covered by the occupation definition in Figure 2.2, as<br />
cleaners work in most industries across the whole economy. That leaves just 10 per cent of<br />
minimum wage jobs in our other low-paying industry groups. The industry groups with the<br />
highest proportions of minimum wage jobs are hairdressing (27 per cent), hospitality (22 per<br />
cent) and cleaning (21 per cent).<br />
2.11 Just as they are distributed unevenly across industries and occupations, so minimum wage<br />
jobs are spread unevenly throughout the UK. Figure 2.3 shows that Northern Ireland is the<br />
country with the highest proportion of minimum wage jobs (7.9 per cent), followed by Wales<br />
(6.1 per cent), while Scotland and England have the lowest (both 4.2 per cent).<br />
24<br />
Figure 2.3: <strong>Minimum</strong> <strong>Wage</strong> Jobs, by Country, Region, and Highest Local Authority<br />
Within Each Area, 2011<br />
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16<br />
UK<br />
NORTHERN IRELAND<br />
WALES<br />
Pembrokeshire<br />
NORTH EAST<br />
Hartlepool UA<br />
EAST MIDLANDS<br />
Bolsover<br />
WEST MIDLANDS<br />
Malvern Hills<br />
NORTH WEST<br />
Blackburn with Darwen UA<br />
YORKSHIRE & THE HUMBER<br />
Richmondshire<br />
ENGLAND<br />
SOUTH WEST<br />
West Somerset<br />
SCOTLAND<br />
Inverclyde<br />
EASTERN<br />
Tendring<br />
SOUTH EAST<br />
East Hampshire<br />
LONDON<br />
Waltham Forest<br />
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16<br />
Jobs paying at or below the minimum wage (per cent)<br />
Country Region Local authority<br />
Source: LPC estimates based on ASHE, 2007 methodology, low-pay weights, including those not on adult rates of pay, UK, April 2011.<br />
Notes:<br />
a. <strong>Minimum</strong> wage jobs defined as adults (aged 21 and over) earning less than £5.98, youths (aged 18-20) earning less than £4.97, and<br />
16-17 year olds earning less than £3.69 in April 2011.<br />
b. The geographic areas are work-based. No regional breakdown is available for Northern Ireland.