According to Living Wage Foundation analysis of ONS data, Northern Ireland has the second-highest rate of low pay in the UK. 1% in 2024. 21.
7 percentage points from 2024 and higher than the UK average of 53%. Young people in Northern Ireland are more likely to be low paid than any other age group, with nearly three in four workers aged 18-21 in 2025 paid less than the real living wage. Causeway Coast and Glens is the council area with the highest rate of low pay in Northern Ireland, where 29% of jobs are paid below the real living wage.
The reality is stark: we still have the second-highest rate of low-paid jobs in the UK.
' Fiona Magee, interim chief executive of Advice NI, stated that low pay is a key driver of financial stress and in-work poverty. ' The main reasons for the increase in low pay in the hospitality sector in Northern Ireland have not been determined, and specific policies to further reduce low pay remain unclear.
Every day the impact low pay has on people in work who are still struggling to meet basic costs, turning to advice services for support with debt, housing and making ends meet.