Almost one in every hundred jobs in the UK is still paying less than the National Minimum Wage over a decade after it was first introduced, according to the preliminary findings recently released in the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) 2009.

The survey found that there were 242,000 jobs paying less than the National Minimum Wage held by people aged 16 or above. This represents 0.9% of the total number of jobs in the UK, and is 32,000 less than the equivalent number in 2008.

Breaking down the figure by age reveals the following pattern (using last year’s NMW rates):

• 14,000 jobs held by 16 to 17 year olds (4.1% of jobs held by people in this age group) paid less than £3.53 an hour.
• In the 18-21 age group, 44,000 jobs paid less than £4.77 an hour, which is 2.6% of the total number of jobs in this age group.
• For employees aged 22 and over, 184,000 jobs paid an hourly rate of less than £5.73, which represents 0.8% of all jobs in this age range.

On 1st October 2009, the latest National Minimum Wage increase came into effect, taking the adult rate up by 1.2% to £5.80 per hour.

The development rate, as the NMW for 18-21 year olds is called, rose from £4.77 to £4.83, and the youth rate for 16 and 17 year olds increased from £3.53 to £3.57.

Every year, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) releases the ASHE survey as the comprehensive and precise source for UK pay data.

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