Nevin Institute: Six out of ten low paid workers are female

Six out of ten low paid workers are female, according to an analysis by the Nevin Economic Research Institute (NERI).

In a special section of its quarterly economic observer, NERI said it was seeking to establish “a more detailed evidence base” for understanding the nature and shape of low pay among women.

It found there were 207,000 female employees working for low pay, representing 60 per cent of all those on low pay.

Female employees carry a 29.3 per cent risk of low pay, meaning that almost three in every ten female employees are low paid. The corresponding situation for males is two in every ten employees.

Female low paid workers feature across all the age groups, although they are concentrated among those under the age of 40.

Just over 60 per cent of low paid women work in three sectors of employment: wholesale and retail (24 per cent), accommodation and food (19.7 per cent) and health and social work (18.4 per cent).

Seven out of every ten female employees in the accommodation and food sector are low paid, while it is almost five out of every ten female employees in wholesale and retail and in administration and support services.

One in every two female workers on a temporary contract is low paid while one in every four of those women is on a permanent contract.

Almost a quarter of all low paid women work in the Dublin region, with almost one in five (17.2 per cent) work in the neighbouring mid-east region. The lowest concentrations are in the south-east, west and midlands.

NERI said the examination also allowed it to gain a greater understanding of the average hourly earnings of low paid women and the importance of their income to that of the households they live in.

In 2013, the average hourly rate of pay among all low paid employees was €9.49 per hour. For low paid male employees this was €9.62 per hour while it was €9.41 for females.

For female employees, the average depth of low pay was €2.04 per hour.

On average, the earnings of low paid female employees’ represent 55 per cent of their household’s total earnings. Some 34 per cent of low paid women provide all of their household’s total earnings while 28 per cent provide less than one quarter.

Some 46 per cent of low paid women are the main earners in their household, while 54 per cent are secondary earners.

Low paid women, who are the main earners in their household, are concentrated in the bottom half of the income distribution.