09 January 2009
By Alex Klaushofer
Low pay will slip back to 2006 levels if the government does nothing, research has found.
A report published by the Institute for Public Policy Research this week calculates that, without government intervention, 5.3 million people will be on low pay by 2020, receiving less than 60% of gross median earnings.
In its report, Nice work if you can get it, the think-tank argues that the government's skills-based approach to tackling low pay is failing. It warns that better in-work support is needed if low-paid people are to stay in work and progress in their careers.
'Low pay and in-work poverty are long-term challenges, and the government must not let its priorities get blown off course by the recession,' said the IPPR's co-director Lisa Harker.
According to the IPPR, there has been greater success in reducing child poverty in workless households, while over half of poor children live in households where someone is earning.
A government white paper on social mobility is due to be published by the Cabinet Office this month.
PFjan2009
