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549,650 South East residents in employment earning less than a real living wage

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"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 549,650 residents in the South East in employment earning less than a real living wage of £9 per hour in the year to end April 2018. This is 15% of all South East residents in employment. Some 72% 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. [See notes to editors for sources and definitions]

The median earnings for South East residents in full time and part time employment in the year to end April 2018 was £14.16 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 Medway which has 24,600. That is 20% of jobs in the area earning less than a living wage. 46% of those part-time workers.
 
Next in the table was Portsmouth, who have a 21,500 residents earning less than a living wage, which is 25% of jobs, 48% of which were part time jobs. Next is Southampton which has 19,600 residents earning less than £9 per hour, which is 20% of all jobs, with 53% of those part-time jobs. Then Arun, which has 15,500 residents not earning a living wage (25% of jobs, 49% of which are part-time); Thanet which has 14,700 (30% of jobs, 52% of which are part-time), New Forest with 14,000 (20% of jobs, 66% of which are part-time); and Cherwell with 13,600 (20% of jobs, 53% of which are part-time workers).
 
Set out in the table below is the full analysis for residents of 67 areas in the South East 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.

 

 
  • Regions
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
  • Medway
13.24
24,600
20
46
  • Portsmouth
11.59
21,500
25
48
  • Southampton
12.00
19,600
20
53
  •   Arun
11.82
15,500
25
49
  •   Thanet
10.70
14,700
30
52
  •   New Forest
12.68
14,000
20
66
  •   Cherwell
13.08
13,600
20
53
  • Brighton and Hove
13.69
13,300
10
97
  •   Wealden
12.77
13,250
25
54
  •   Havant
13.44
13,000
25
49
  • Milton Keynes
13.88
12,400
10
90
  • Isle of Wight
10.53
12,000
25
53
  •   Canterbury
13.69
11,600
20
54
  •   Swale
13.55
11,600
20
52
  •   Gravesham
12.83
11,250
25
46
  • Slough
13.34
11,000
20
59
  •   Folkestone and Hythe
12.00
10,250
25
55
  •   Crawley
12.15
10,200
20
55
  •   Gosport
11.30
10,000
25
52
  •   Hastings
10.58
9,600
30
42
  •   Worthing
12.37
9,600
20
41
  •   Eastbourne
12.33
9,500
25
51
  •   Aylesbury Vale
14.29
9,100
10
79
  •   Chichester
12.63
8,600
20
52
  • Reading
13.93
8,400
10
100
  •   Dover
13.36
8,400
20
57
  •   Basingstoke and Deane
15.20
8,300
10
100
  •   Rother
10.84
8,100
30
44
  • Wokingham
17.07
7,900
10
72
  • West Berkshire
14.54
7,500
10
76
  •   Wycombe
14.66
7,500
10
84
  •   Maidstone
14.22
7,300
10
100
  •   Mid Sussex
15.19
7,200
10
73
  •   Lewes
13.75
7,000
20
69
  •   Oxford
14.92
6,800
10
79
  •   Eastleigh
13.62
6,500
10
100
  •   Guildford
17.25
6,500
10
83
  • Windsor and Maidenhead
15.93
6,200
10
100
  •   Reigate and Banstead
16.10
6,200
10
77
  •   Test Valley
14.70
6,100
10
100
  • Bracknell Forest
14.48
6,000
10
80
  •   South Oxfordshire
17.18
5,900
10
64
  •   Vale of White Horse
14.91
5,900
10
100
  •   Horsham
14.63
5,700
10
100
  •   Winchester
17.25
5,500
10
98
  •   Dartford
14.99
5,400
10
72
  •   Tonbridge and Malling
15.13
5,400
10
100
  •   West Oxfordshire
14.09
5,200
10
98
  •   Elmbridge
18.96
5,200
10
54
  •   Waverley
16.43
5,100
10
59
  •   Fareham
14.65
5,000
10
84
  •   Tunbridge Wells
15.41
5,000
10
84
  •   Ashford
12.79
4,900
10
98
  •   East Hampshire
15.72
4,800
10
81
  •   Rushmoor
13.78
4,700
10
85
  •   Hart
15.44
4,500
10
80
  •   Sevenoaks
14.01
4,500
10
87
  •   Woking
15.05
4,500
10
87
  •   Spelthorne
15.04
4,300
10
77
  •   Chiltern
15.83
3,700
10
89
  •   Surrey Heath
17.26
3,700
10
61
  •   Epsom and Ewell
16.25
3,600
10
61
  •   Tandridge
15.54
3,600
10
69
  •   Mole Valley
13.17
3,500
10
100
  •   Runnymede
14.88
3,400
10
59
  •   South Bucks
16.85
2,800
10
64
  •   Adur
13.21
2,200
10
95
  • South East
14.16
549,650
15
72

* 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 549,650 South East residents in jobs that paid below a living wage of £9 per hour in the year to April 2018. This is 15% of all South East residents in jobs. Some 72% 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 South East".
 
ENDS
 
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.