72,450 Dorset and Wiltshire residents in employment earning less than a real living wage
"There is a very high proportion of working families struggling to make ends meet every day. Policies need to take this into account", says GMB Southern
There were a total of 72,450 residents in the Dorset and Wiltshire area in employment earning less than a real living wage of £9 per hour in the year to end April 2018. This is 20% of all Dorset and Wiltshire residents in employment. Some 64% of the residents in jobs paying less than the living wage were in part time jobs.
This data is from a new study by GMB Southern of official data for earnings and hours published by the Office for National statistics.
The median earnings for Dorset and Wiltshire residents in full time and part time employment in the year to end April 2018 was £12.31 per hour.
The area with the highest number of residents in jobs earning less than the Real Living Wage of £9 per hour, as set by the Living Wage Foundation, is Wiltshire which has 40,800. That is 20% of jobs in the area earning less than a living wage. 63% of those are part-time workers.
Next in the table was West Dorset, who have 7,200 residents earning less than a living wage, which is 20% of jobs, 50% of which were part time jobs. Next is Weymouth and Portland which has 6,500 residents earning less than £9 per hour, which is 25% of all jobs, with 55% of those part-time jobs. Then North Dorset, which has 6,200 residents not earning a living wage (20% of jobs, 48% of which are part-time); Purbeck which has 4,750 (25% of jobs, 67% of which are part-time), East Dorset with 3,600 (10% of jobs, 100% of which are part-time); and Christchurch with 3,400 (20% of jobs, 62% of which are part-time workers).
Set out in the table below is the full analysis for residents in 7 councils in the Dorset and Wiltshire area in employment by GMB Southern of official data in the 2018 Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings published Office of National Statistics (ONS). The figures do not include the self-employed.
|
Gross Hourly Earnings (£) in 2018*
|
Number of jobs with earnings less than the Living Minimum Wage**
|
% of jobs with earnings less than the Living Minimum Wage***
|
% of jobs earning less than the Living Minimum Wage that are part-time
|
|
12.87
|
40,800
|
20
|
63
|
|
12.72
|
7,200
|
20
|
50
|
|
11.27
|
6,500
|
25
|
55
|
|
12.18
|
6,200
|
20
|
48
|
|
10.81
|
4,750
|
25
|
67
|
|
13.93
|
3,600
|
10
|
100
|
|
12.37
|
3,400
|
20
|
62
|
|
12.31
|
72,450
|
20
|
64
|
* Based on Median values as provided by the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) Tables.
** Living Minimum Wage is set at £9 outside of London by the Living Wage Foundation.
***Estimates are provided for selected percentiles in the distribution of earnings below £9. Percentiles mark the values below which certain proportions of jobs fall. For example, the 20th percentile is the value below which 20% of jobs fall.
Paul Maloney, GMB Southern Regional Secretary: said "The figures show that there were 72,450 Dorset and Wiltshire residents in jobs that paid below a living wage of £9 per hour in the year to April 2018. This is 20% of all Dorset and Wiltshire residents in jobs. Some 64% of these residents in jobs were in part time employment.
"There is a very high proportion of working families struggling to make ends meet every day. Policies need to take this into account. Here is a range of changes required:
"On support, these families are dependent on housing benefits. They are adversely affected by the cuts to working families tax credits as it transitions to the universal credit system. The cuts should be reversed.
"On new homes planned, the majority must be for rent as affordable social housing.
"On energy, the Office for Budget responsibility says that by 2022 subsidies to be paid to investors for low or zero carbon energy sources by households will amount to £10 per household per week. This is grossly unfair for these lower paid households. The subsidies should be paid for out of general taxation.
"Contractors of outsourced public sector jobs should be required to offer a living wage to all workers doing these jobs.
"The law allows employers impunity to deny the legal rights of lower paid workers to combine into trades unions to force collective bargaining to get a better deal at work. This is perverse and should be changed.
"GMB Southern call for real change to improve the upstairs downstairs labour market in the Dorset and Wiltshire".
Contact: Rob Carlson 07866 441656 or GMB Southern Press Office 07970 114762
Note to Editors
Sources and Definitions
•These tables have been compiled based on the data available in the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. More information can be found in the Quality and Methodology Information Report.
•Indicative counts for the number of jobs are provided alongside all estimates. These are intended to provide a broad idea of the numbers of employee jobs but they should not be considered accurate estimates.
•Percentages in the last column are indicative only of the trend rather than exact value.
•Quality and Methodology Information Report
