Incidence of low and high pay — Low pay incidence in United Kingdom

United Kingdom: Incidence of low and high pay — Low pay incidence was 23.5 Percentage of full-time employment in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
23.5 Percentage of full-time employment
Change on year
down 4.9%
World rank
4th
of 37 countries
All-time high
28.9 Percentage of full-time employment
in 2014
All-time low
23.5 Percentage of full-time employment
in 2023
Years of data
27
1997–2023

Incidence of low and high pay — Low pay incidence in United Kingdom, 1997–2023

01020301997201020231997: 28.4 Percentage of full-time employment1998: 28.5 Percentage of full-time employment1999: 28.5 Percentage of full-time employment2000: 28.4 Percentage of full-time employment2001: 28.4 Percentage of full-time employment2002: 28.5 Percentage of full-time employment2003: 28.2 Percentage of full-time employment2004: 28.2 Percentage of full-time employment2005: 28.6 Percentage of full-time employment2006: 28.4 Percentage of full-time employment2007: 28.4 Percentage of full-time employment2008: 28.4 Percentage of full-time employment2009: 28.2 Percentage of full-time employment2010: 28.7 Percentage of full-time employment2011: 28.8 Percentage of full-time employment2012: 28.7 Percentage of full-time employment2013: 28.7 Percentage of full-time employment2014: 28.9 Percentage of full-time employment2015: 28.5 Percentage of full-time employment2016: 27.5 Percentage of full-time employment2017: 27.2 Percentage of full-time employment2018: 27.3 Percentage of full-time employment2019: 26.5 Percentage of full-time employment2020: 26.8 Percentage of full-time employment2021: 25.4 Percentage of full-time employment2022: 24.7 Percentage of full-time employment2023: 23.5 Percentage of full-time employment

Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage of full-time employment.

Analysis

United Kingdom recorded 23.5 Percentage of full-time employment for incidence of low and high pay — low pay incidence in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 27 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 4.9% on the previous year and down 18.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, incidence of low and high pay — low pay incidence in United Kingdom peaked at 28.9 Percentage of full-time employment in 2014 and was at its lowest, 23.5 Percentage of full-time employment, in 2023.

United Kingdom ranks 4th of 37 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 27 years of available data.

Incidence of low and high pay — Low pay incidence in United Kingdom, year by year

Annual values for Incidence of low and high pay — Low pay incidence in United Kingdom, 1997 to 2023.
Year Percentage of full-time employment Change
1997 28.4 Percentage of full-time employment
1998 28.5 Percentage of full-time employment +0.4%
1999 28.5 Percentage of full-time employment +0.0%
2000 28.4 Percentage of full-time employment -0.4%
2001 28.4 Percentage of full-time employment +0.0%
2002 28.5 Percentage of full-time employment +0.4%
2003 28.2 Percentage of full-time employment -1.1%
2004 28.2 Percentage of full-time employment +0.0%
2005 28.6 Percentage of full-time employment +1.4%
2006 28.4 Percentage of full-time employment -0.7%
2007 28.4 Percentage of full-time employment +0.0%
2008 28.4 Percentage of full-time employment +0.0%
2009 28.2 Percentage of full-time employment -0.7%
2010 28.7 Percentage of full-time employment +1.8%
2011 28.8 Percentage of full-time employment +0.3%
2012 28.7 Percentage of full-time employment -0.3%
2013 28.7 Percentage of full-time employment +0.0%
2014 28.9 Percentage of full-time employment +0.7%
2015 28.5 Percentage of full-time employment -1.4%
2016 27.5 Percentage of full-time employment -3.5%
2017 27.2 Percentage of full-time employment -1.1%
2018 27.3 Percentage of full-time employment +0.4%
2019 26.5 Percentage of full-time employment -2.9%
2020 26.8 Percentage of full-time employment +1.1%
2021 25.4 Percentage of full-time employment -5.2%
2022 24.7 Percentage of full-time employment -2.8%
2023 23.5 Percentage of full-time employment -4.9%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 28.47 Percentage of full-time employment 28.4 Percentage of full-time employment 28.5 Percentage of full-time employment 3
2000s 28.37 Percentage of full-time employment 28.2 Percentage of full-time employment 28.6 Percentage of full-time employment 10
2010s 28.08 Percentage of full-time employment 26.5 Percentage of full-time employment 28.9 Percentage of full-time employment 10
2020s 25.1 Percentage of full-time employment 23.5 Percentage of full-time employment 26.8 Percentage of full-time employment 4

Countries ranked near United Kingdom

  1. 1 Argentina 27.56 Percentage of full-time employment compare
  2. 2 Bulgaria 26.31 Percentage of full-time employment compare
  3. 3 Israel 25.38 Percentage of full-time employment compare
  4. 5 United States 22.51 Percentage of full-time employment compare
  5. 6 Hungary 22.06 Percentage of full-time employment compare
  6. 7 Peru 21.25 Percentage of full-time employment compare

See the full ranking of 48 places →

More reference data data for United Kingdom

All data for United Kingdom →

Frequently asked questions

What is incidence of low and high pay — low pay incidence in United Kingdom?
Incidence of low and high pay — low pay incidence in United Kingdom was 23.5 Percentage of full-time employment in 2023, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
What is the highest incidence of low and high pay — low pay incidence recorded in United Kingdom?
The highest recorded value was 28.9 Percentage of full-time employment in 2014.
What is the lowest incidence of low and high pay — low pay incidence recorded in United Kingdom?
The lowest recorded value was 23.5 Percentage of full-time employment in 2023.
How does United Kingdom rank for incidence of low and high pay — low pay incidence?
United Kingdom ranks 4th out of 37 countries with data for 2023.
Is incidence of low and high pay — low pay incidence rising or falling in United Kingdom?
Over the last ten years it is down 18.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this United Kingdom data come from?
The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Incidence of low and high pay — Low pay incidence. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Incidence of low and high pay — Low pay incidence in United Kingdom. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 23 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/incidence-of-low-and-high-pay-low-pay-incidence/united-kingdom/

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About this data

Indicator
Incidence of low and high pay — Low pay incidence
Unit
Percentage of full-time employment
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
48 places, 904 data points, 1973–2025
Last refreshed

This dataset contains series on the incidence of low-paid workers defined as the share of full-time workers earning less than two-thirds of gross median earnings of all full-time workers; the incidence of high-paid workers defined as the share of full-time workers earning more than one-and-half time gross median earnings of all full-time workers.