Outputs From WIIS 2 

Working Life on Low Pay in Northern Ireland:

Press Release​​​

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Despite the implementation of the National Living Wage in 2016, up to one in three employees in Northern Ireland are low paid and struggle to make ends meet, according to a new survey.

Dublin/Belfast, 30th September 2026

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Among the key findings of the Working Life on Low Pay in Northern Ireland report, which is derived from the Working in Ireland Survey, are:

• Between 14% and 30% of employees have low weekly earnings, depending on the threshold used. Almost one in four (22.6%) earn less than two-thirds of the median weekly wage. Almost one in three (30.3%) earn less than a full-time job at the level the Real Living Wage would pay. This is the critical test of whether one’s earnings are enough to live on.

• Low pay is about hours, not just the hourly rate. Two-thirds of low paid workers’ pay is low because they work too few hours in the week: more than three-quarters of the low-paid work part-time.

• Full-time work does not insulate workers from low pay. One in seven full-time employees (14.2%) earns less than the Real Living Wage would pay over a week. For these workers the issue is the rate, not the hours.

• Women are hit hardest. Almost one in three women are low paid (31.8%) as against 14% of men. Furthermore, most low paid workers in NI’s economy are women.

• Low pay is highest at both ends of working life. More than half of employees under 25 (54.1%) and more than half of those aged 65 and over (52.9%) are low paid.

• A third-level qualification is the surest route out of low pay. Fewer than one in ten graduates are low paid. On the other hand, workers without a third-level degree make up the bulk of the low paid.

• Low paid workers are concentrated in four sectors: retail, health and social care, education and hospitality.

• Some regions are more prone to low paid work than others: Causeway Coast and Glens, Fermanagh and Omagh, and Derry City and Strabane have the highest rates.

• Low paid workers rarely know when and for how long they will work in any given week. Three-fifths of low paid workers have no say over when they start and finish work, and almost half worry about unexpected changes to their hours.

• Low paid work generally provides little training, is linked with workplace abuse and is exhausting.

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Dr Lisa Wilson, Senior Economist at the NERI and Adjunct Associate Professor at UCD School of Business, said:

"The statutory wage floor which sets a minimum hourly rate of pay is not lifting workers out of low pay. The reason simply is that people don't live on an hourly rate. They live on what a week's work provides. On this measure almost one in three employees in Northern Ireland earn less than what is widely seen as a requisite living wage. The problem, then, is the number of hours people get to work - they are too few, and too uncertain.

The lesson is clear: if we want a week's work to provide a living, we need to give more consideration to the organisation of working time."

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ENDS

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Notes to editors: Working Life on Low Pay in Northern Ireland: Evidence from the Working in Ireland Survey 2025 by Lisa Wilson, John Geary, Hugh Creaton, David Jordan, Juliet Hassard, María Belizón and Chris Smart. The Working in Ireland Survey 2025 was administered to 1,260 workers in Northern Ireland and 3,040 in the Republic of Ireland. It is led by Professor John Geary, UCD, with researchers at UCD, Queen's University Belfast, the Nevin Economic Research Institute and Comillas Pontifical University. Fieldwork 15 May – 28 August 2025 by Ipsos B&A. The report is available at [link]. Interviews: Lisa Wilson, lisa.wilson@nerinstitute.net.