Report

London’s low pay landscape

This report from UK think tank the Living Wage Foundation sets out to understand who earns less than the London Living Wage and the impact this has on their lives.

This report sets out to understand who earns less than the London Living Wage, and the impact this has on their lives. It functions as a companion piece to our previous publication, London’s Living Hours Landscape: Exploring Insecure Work in the Capital to provide a better understanding of in-work poverty in London by exploring its two main drivers: low pay and insecure work.

Of all UK regions, London has seen the least progress on eradicating low pay since 2012, with only a 3-percentage point decrease in the proportion of low paid jobs between 2012 and 2023, less than half the UK’s average reduction over the same period. Despite London having previously been amongst the regions with the lowest incidence of low pay, there is now a higher rate of low pay in London compared to the UK as a whole (13.3 per cent vs 12.9 per cent). This is worrying because the higher cost of living in the capital exposes more low paid Londoners to the risk of in-work poverty.

Our research highlights the persistent challenges faced by low paid workers in London due to ongoing cost of living pressures. Many are living pay check to pay check, cannot afford food and have fallen behind on bills. These findings underscore the necessity of a wage that reflects the higher costs of living in the capital, so that all Londoners can live with dignity.