Low-paid jobs by borough

What does this map show?

Outer London boroughs have a higher proportion of jobs that are low paid than Inner London boroughs. In nine boroughs in Outer London, over 20% of jobs are paid less than the London Living Wage (LLW).

In Tower Hamlets, less than 5% of jobs are paid below the living wage. It is difficult, in fact, to discern how many people do earn below this threshold as according to the official statistics there are so few. There are only 10% of employees working in Tower Hamlets earning less than £9.80 per hour, which is well in excess of LLW.

It is difficult to discern changes over time at the borough level as many will not be statistically reliable, but it appears that there may have been an increase in the proportion of low-paid jobs in some Outer London boroughs.

The proportion of jobs that are low paid is higher in Outer London than Inner London. But that does not mean that Inner London has few low-paid jobs, in fact, quite the opposite. Almost one quarter (24%) of all low-paid jobs are in the Inner West of London. The Inner West is only 5 boroughs but accounts for almost one-third of all jobs (1 million of 3.5 million). So, even though the overall rate of low-paid work in places like Camden, Hammersmith and Westminster is not especially high, the high number of total jobs means that many jobs in the Inner West are low paid.

Compare with low-paid residents by borough.

Data used

ASHE, ONS, average for 2008 to 2010

Indicator last updated: 21 February 2012