Decline in workers earning under minimum wage, new figures reveal
There has been a decline in the number of workers earning less than the minimum wage, according to data released by the Central Statistics Office.
At the end of last year, 6.4% of all employees earned the minimum wage or less - a reduction from 10.5% 12 months previous.
Questions on the national minimum wage status of employees have been included in the Labour Force Survey since 2016, CSO statistician Jim Dalton explained.
In total 122,800 were earning the minimum wage or less at the end of 2019
Social Justice Ireland have said the numbers emphasise the fact that there are workers in Ireland living in poverty - and that the current economic situation is much worse than in was before Christmas.
“While acknowledging that the current employment situation in Ireland bears no resemblance to that of the end of 2019 when this survey was carried out, it is still worth noting that during what constitutes ‘normality’ in the Irish economy," the group's director Sean Healy said.
We also know that around 110,000 people in Ireland live in poverty despite having a job.
Economic and social analyst with Social Justice Ireland Eamon Murphy added that the minimum wage is 18% lower than the living wage, the number that is considered enough to maintain a normal standard of living.