National Minimum Wage

Hours
Chapter 2: The Impact of the National Minimum Wage
minorities have fared slightly worse than average while the employment rate of those with
no qualifications has been unchanged.
Table 2.9: Employment Rates, by Groups of Workers, UK, 1999-2011
(Rates: per cent;
changes: percentage points)
2011 Q3 Change on:
2010 Q3 2008 Q2 1999 Q1
Working age 70.5 0.0 -2.3 -1.1
Men 75.6 0.2 -3.3 -2.9
Women 65.5 -0.2 -1.4 0.6
16-17 year olds 23.4 -2.1 -10.8 -24.7
18-20 year olds 46.3 -2.1 -10.3 -14.8
Older workers (65+) 8.7 0.5 1.6 3.7
White 72.1 -0.2 -2.2 -0.2
All ethnic minorities 59.7 -0.1 -0.7 3.7
Black 61.3 2.3 -2.2 1.3
Indian 70.4 1.8 1.3 6.6
Pakistani/Bangladeshi 49.2 2.7 3.2 10.8
Other non-white 59.2 -0.8 -1.5 2.8
With qualifications 74.3 -0.1 -3.9 -4.1
No qualifications 40.1 0.0 -6.5 -11.8
Not disabled (16-59/64) 77.9 0.0 -2.6 -2.0
Disabled people (16-59/64) 41.2 0.9 1.0 3.5
UK born 71.1 -0.1 -2.5 -1.5
Non-UK born 67.3 0.7 -0.7 5.0
Source: LPC estimates based on LFS Microdata, quarterly, four-quarter moving average, UK, Q2 1998-Q3 2011.
Note: Working age, unless otherwise stated.
2.83 The number of hours worked in the UK economy as a whole increased by around 7 per cent
between the introduction of the minimum wage and the onset of recession (from 888.3
million in March 1999 to 949.2 million in March 2008). It then fell in the recession by over 4
per cent, reaching a nadir of 908.4 million in January 2010, before slowly recovering. Figure
2.18 shows that the fall in hours was greater during the recession in the low-paying sectors
than for the economy as a whole. But it also shows that from the beginning of the recovery
to the third quarter of 2011, hours worked have picked up faster in the low-paying sectors
than in the economy as a whole.
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