KPMG’s article “The Living Wage” shows earnings falling further behind the cost of living. Markit, KPMG’s research company estimate the Living Wage to equates to £7.45 per hour outside of London. The number of people in the UK earning less than this figure has increased from 4.82 million to 5.24 million in the last year. This is because of the rise in the cost of living and despite the increase number of people in employment. That is an 8.7% increase. Interestingly this compares with Inflation and Retail Price Index figures of around 3% for the year to September 2013. It would seem that the Living Wage figures are a better yardstick for measuring how the poorest 20% of our working population are coping. Things are improving in the economy, but there is still a long way to go.
See Swiss View on a living Wage
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xi4g9lfodY
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