[Ireland] Only 11.4% of minimum wage workers at risk of poverty

There are fewer minimum wage workers at risk of poverty in Ireland than in any of 14 countries surveyed for a new report by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), The Irish Times reports.

The study - A Comparative Assessment of Minimum Wage Employment in Europe - found that only 11.4 per cent of minimum wage workers in Ireland are at risk of poverty. This is because the majority live in high-income households such as students living at home with their parents or a home where one spouse earns the minimum wage and the other earns a higher wage.

In Ireland, 20 per cent of minimum wage employees are reportedly non-Irish nationals. However, Ireland also has one of the highest shares of non-nationals among all employees at 13 per cent.

The report noted that Ireland pays the second-highest minimum wage in Europe and the seventh-highest when adjusted for cost of living, according to new research. Ireland’s minimum wage is €10.20.

About 10 per cent of the Irish workforce (9.6 per cent) are paid minimum wage and these workers are clustered in occupations disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ireland has the most highly educated workforce among all the countries studied. Of all employees in Ireland, 56 per cent are educated to post-secondary or tertiary level. Ireland also has the highest percentage of highly educated minimum wage employees, at 46 per cent.

Ireland is the only country where women are not over-represented in the minimum wage category; the results showed a 50:50 split in terms of gender. This in contrast with counties including Belgium, Germany, France, Latvia, Netherlands, Portugal and the UK where women make up between 60 per cent and 70 per cent of minimum wage employees.

Of those receiving the pandemic unemployment payment (PUP); 43 per cent are from the hospitality, food and retail sectors. These workers also account for half of all people on the minimum wage in Ireland. 

Dr Paul Redmond - an author of the report - said, “Our research shows that minimum wage workers in Ireland may be particularly exposed to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic as they are more likely to work in sectors such as accommodation, food, wholesale and retail.”

There are fewer minimum wage workers at risk of poverty in Ireland than in any of 14 countries surveyed for a new report by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), The Irish Times reports.

The study - A Comparative Assessment of Minimum Wage Employment in Europe - found that only 11.4 per cent of minimum wage workers in Ireland are at risk of poverty. This is because the majority live in high-income households such as students living at home with their parents or a home where one spouse earns the minimum wage and the other earns a higher wage.

In Ireland, 20 per cent of minimum wage employees are reportedly non-Irish nationals. However, Ireland also has one of the highest shares of non-nationals among all employees at 13 per cent.

The report noted that Ireland pays the second-highest minimum wage in Europe and the seventh-highest when adjusted for cost of living, according to new research. Ireland’s minimum wage is €10.20.

About 10 per cent of the Irish workforce (9.6 per cent) are paid minimum wage and these workers are clustered in occupations disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ireland has the most highly educated workforce among all the countries studied. Of all employees in Ireland, 56 per cent are educated to post-secondary or tertiary level. Ireland also has the highest percentage of highly educated minimum wage employees, at 46 per cent.

Ireland is the only country where women are not over-represented in the minimum wage category; the results showed a 50:50 split in terms of gender. This in contrast with counties including Belgium, Germany, France, Latvia, Netherlands, Portugal and the UK where women make up between 60 per cent and 70 per cent of minimum wage employees.

Of those receiving the pandemic unemployment payment (PUP); 43 per cent are from the hospitality, food and retail sectors. These workers also account for half of all people on the minimum wage in Ireland. 

Dr Paul Redmond - an author of the report - said, “Our research shows that minimum wage workers in Ireland may be particularly exposed to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic as they are more likely to work in sectors such as accommodation, food, wholesale and retail.”