National Minimum Wage

National Minimum Wage
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The groups covered by our remit contain higher proportions of minimum wage workers than
the overall working age population.
Figure 2.4: Minimum Wage Workers, UK, 2011
All working age
Men
Women
Young people 16-17
Young people 18-20
Older workers 65+
Disabled people
Ethnic minorities
Migrant workers
Unqualified
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
72.4% paid at or below adult rate
74.6% paid at or below adult rate
39.2% paid at or below adult rate
38.7% paid at or below adult rate
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Workers paid at or below the minimum wage (per cent)
ASHE LFS
Source: LPC estimates based on ASHE, 2007 methodology, low-pay weights, including those not on adult rates of pay, UK, April 2011;
and LFS Microdata, income weights, quarterly, not seasonally adjusted, UK, Q2 2011.
Note: Minimum wage jobs defined as adults (aged 21 and over) earning less than £5.98, youths (aged 18-20) earning less than £4.97,
and 16-17 year olds earning less than £3.69 in April 2011.
2.16 The ethnic minority and migrant worker categories in Figure 2.4 are the aggregates of many
different ethnicities and countries of birth and presenting them in this form hides significant
variation between the constituent groups. For example, among the ethnic minorities, the
proportion of black workers in minimum wage jobs is lower than that of white workers (4.9
per cent compared with 5.4 per cent), whereas the proportion is much higher among workers
of Pakistani and Bangladeshi ethnicities (11.1 per cent).
2.17 We have established that part-time jobs, temporary jobs, jobs in small firms, and jobs in
certain industries and occupations are more likely to be minimum wage jobs. Further, we
have shown that these are more likely to be carried out by women, young people, those over
retirement age, disabled people, ethnic minorities, migrant workers and those with no
qualifications. We now go on to assess the impact of the minimum wage in aggregate and on
these jobs and workers in particular.