There were 279,000 jobs in April 2013 that paid less than the national minimum wage, according to new figures released by the Office for National Statistics.

The estimate relates to all jobs held by people aged 16 and over, and is based on data from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE).

Key points

• The number of jobs paying less than the minimum wage constituted 1.1 per cent of total jobs in the UK.
• There were 19,00 jobs held by young people aged 16-17 with pay less than the statutory £3.68 an hour (7.3 per cent of jobs in this age group).
• For those aged 18-20, there were 57,000 jobs with pay less than the statutory £4.98 an hour (5.5 per cent).
• For employees aged 21 and over, there were 203,000 jobs with pay less than £6.19 an hour (0.8 per cent).
• 1.4 per cent of part-time jobs, and 0.9 per cent of full-time jobs, fell below the minimum wage.
• Jobs held by women were more likely to be paid less than the minimum wage than jobs held by men (1.1 per cent compared with 1.0 per cent).
• The proportion of jobs paying under the minimum wage has remained broadly unchanged in recent years.

Source: Low Pay: April 2013, Office for National Statistics
Links: Report