NI has second-highest low-pay rate in UK despite overall fall, report finds

Northern Ireland has the second-highest rate of low pay in the UK, a report has found.

Low pay in the region was increasing, despite some overall falls, according to analysis of the ONS’ Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) by the Living Wage Foundation.

Overall rates of below real living wage pay fell to 17.3% from 20.1% in 2024, but Northern Ireland continues to have one of the highest rates of low pay, second only to the north-east of England.

The real living wage is independently calculated based on the cost of living and is £13.85 across the UK and £14.80 in London, slightly higher than the Government’s legal minimum (national living wage) of £12.21.

Hospitality has the highest rates of low pay of any industry in Northern Ireland, with nearly three in four (72%) jobs paid below the real living wage, up 11.7 percentage points from 2024 and higher than the UK average of 53%.

Wholesale and retail have the highest number of low-paid jobs of any industry in the region, with 62,000 paid below the real living wage, up 7% on 2024.

Young people in Northern Ireland are more likely to be low paid than any other age group.

In 2025, nearly three in four workers aged 18-21 were paid less than the real living wage.

Causeway Coast and Glens, where 29% of jobs are paid below the real living wage, is the council area with the highest rate of low pay in Northern Ireland and has the 15th highest rate across the whole of the UK.

To date, 211 businesses in Northern Ireland have signed up to pay the real living wage, uplifting the salaries of more than 5,000 workers.

Mary McManus, Living Wage NI regional manager, said the overall reduction in low-paid jobs was encouraging but “the reality is stark: we still have the second-highest rate of low-paid jobs in the UK”.

Fiona Magee, interim chief executive, Advice NI, said her organisation sees “every day the impact low pay has on people in work who are still struggling to meet basic costs, turning to advice services for support with debt, housing and making ends meet”.

“Low pay is a key driver of financial stress and in-work poverty. While the rate of low pay in Northern Ireland has fallen slightly, we still have too many people on low pay,” she said.

In 2024, Advice NI launched Living Wage NI, a partnership with the Living Wage Foundation funded by the Department for the Economy NI.