Despite being two of the world’s largest economies, with their GDPs valued in trillions of dollars, the United Kingdom and the United States grapple with a significant portion of the workforce that earns wages often inadequate to cover basic living expenses.
The proportion of this problem puts the two countries at the top of the list of low-wage nations.
According to data presented by Stocklytics.com, the United Kingdom and the United States have over 23% of workers who receive only two-thirds of the median wage, far more than any other country in the world.
The perfect storm of economic and policy factors has created a surge of low-income workers in the United Kingdom and the United States.
Both countries rely heavily on the service sector, including hospitality, caregiving, and retail jobs, which often pay less. At the same time, the rise of the gig economy has fuelled the growth of low-wage, flexible jobs, which usually lack benefits. These factors, combined with economic inequality, wage stagnation, and high living costs, have created an environment where low-wage work remains prevalent and, for many, difficult to escape.
The OECD data shows just how big this problem has become. Statistics show that many full-time wage earners in the United Kingdom are paid much less than the nation`s average, with 23.5% earning less than two-thirds of gross median pay. The US labour market showed similar figures, with 23.3% of low-paid workers. This is much more than in any other country in the OECD database and twice more than the OECD average of 13.5%.
Statistics show Canada, Mexico, Australia, and Czechia were below these figures, with 19.2% and 17.5% of workers earning two-thirds of the median wage, respectively. South Korea and Slovakia were even closer to the OECD average, with 16.2% and 16% shares, respectively. On the other hand, Colombia, and Japan were all below the average, with twice lower share of low-wage workers than the leading United Kingdom and the United States. Fewer low-wage earners were found in Costa Rica, Norway, and New Zealand, with results in the single digits.
The OECD data also gave an interesting insight into the share of people earning high wages, 1.5 times the median gross pay or higher. Interestingly, besides topping the list of low-wage nations in 2023, the United Kingdom had a significant share of high earners, more than 23%. Colombia was the only country ahead of the United Kingdom, with nearly 27% of full-time workers earning 1.5 times the median gross pay or higher. Canada ranked third with a 21.6% share, while all other nations were below the 20% mark.
