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National Minimum Wage

Volume 490: debated on Monday 23 March 2009

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what his most recent estimate is of the number of workers receiving below the national minimum wage in each (a) region and (b) local authority area. (264509)

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.

Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated March 2009:

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question to ask what the most recent estimate is of the number of workers receiving below the national minimum wage in each (a) region and (b) local authority area. (264509)

Estimates for the number of jobs paid below the national minimum wage by Local Authority area are not available. However, I attach a table showing the number of jobs earning less than the national minimum wage by Government Office Region.

A guide to measuring low pay and associated articles can be found on the National Statistics website at:

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=5837

Estimates of UK jobs paid below the national minimum wage by Government office region in 2008

2008

Government office region

Number (thousand)

Percentage

North East

**13

**1.2

North West (including Merseyside)

*27

*1.0

Yorks and Humber

*29

*1.4

East Midlands

*21

*1.2

West Midlands

*27

*1.2

Eastern

*30

*1.2

London

*21

*0.6

South East

*37

*1.0

South West

*23

*1.0

Wales

**16

**1.4

Scotland

*27

*1.1

Northern Ireland

*17

*2.3

All

288

1.1

Guide to quality:

The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of a figure, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an average of 200 with a CV of 5 per cent. we would expect the population average to be within the range 180 to 220.

Key:

CV <= 5%

* CV > 5% and <= 10%

** CV > 10% and <= 20%

Source:

Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), Office for National Statistics. 2008