A third of Blackpool workers earn less than Real Living Wage

Blackpool has one of the highest proportions of low earners in the North West, with almost a third workers paid less than the Real Living Wage.
A third of Blackpool workers earn less than Real Living WageA third of Blackpool workers earn less than Real Living Wage
A third of Blackpool workers earn less than Real Living Wage

Charities and trade unions have warned of a “rising tide of in-work poverty” across the country, with millions of workers struggling to make ends meet.

The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics reveal 31 per cent of jobs in Blackpool earn less than the real living wage – around 18,000 workers in total.

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Some 9,000 part-time workers are taking home less than the living wage – 43.4 per cent of the total.

A third of Blackpool workers earn less than Real Living WageA third of Blackpool workers earn less than Real Living Wage
A third of Blackpool workers earn less than Real Living Wage

Just 24.1 per cent of full-time workers were paid less than the living wage.

The Real Living Wage, which was £8.75 per hour when the data was compiled but has since been revised to £9, is set by the Living Wage Foundation.

It is higher than the living wage introduced by the Government in 2016, which is the legal minimum employers can pay workers aged 25 and over, and instead calculates the minimum amount a person needs to earn to meet their everyday living costs.

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The Living Wage Foundation argues that businesses paying the living wage benefit from more productive and motivated workers.

“If we want to build a modern, dynamic economy, we need to see more businesses step up and join the over 5,000 Living Wage employers committed to pay a fair day’s pay for a hard day’s work,” said director Katherine Chapman.

The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said it was committed to fair pay for workers.

“Last month’s rise in the National Living and Minimum Wage has benefited millions of people, and our minimum wage rates are now among the highest in the world,” it continued.