National Minimum Wage

Chapter 3: Young People, Interns and Apprentices
Figure 3.3: Proportion of Jobs Held by 16-17 Year Olds, by National Minimum Wage
Rate, UK, 2006-2011
Distribution of 16-17 year olds by pay band (per cent)
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
2006
2007
2008
2009
April of each year
2010
2011
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
At adult rate
Above YDR and
below adult rate
At YDR
Above 16-17
Year Old Rate
and below YDR
At 16-17
Year Old Rate
Below 16-17
Year Old Rate
Source: LPC estimates based on ASHE, 2007 methodology, standard weights, including those not on adult rates of pay, UK, April 2006-
2011.
3.15 The proportion of 16-17 year olds who are paid below the Youth Development Rate has also
increased. In 2007, prior to the recession, fewer than a third of 16-17 year olds were paid less
than the Youth Development Rate. By 2011 the proportion had risen to almost 46 per cent.
Figure 3.3 also shows that 5.6 per cent of 16-17 year olds were paid less than the 16-17 Year
Old Rate in 2011, the same proportion as in 2010. These are most likely to be apprentices,
who were entitled to a lower minimum wage of £2.50 an hour in April 2011. Apprentices and
the NMW are covered in more detail later in the chapter.
3.16 Figure 3.4 shows a similar pattern for workers aged 18-20. Almost a third of all 18-20 year old
workers were paid below the adult rate in 2011, compared with less than a quarter in 2007,
prior to the recession. Similarly, the proportion of 18-20 year olds paid at the Youth
Development Rate increased from 3.8 per cent in 2007 to 8.0 per cent in 2011.
77