Winners of the National Living Wage are in the North East

Since the introduction the National Living Wage on 1 April, workers in North East England are three times as likely as Londoners to have received a pay rise – yet job vacancies across the UK have since slumped by 9%, according to data from job site Indeed.

Its latest UK Industry Employment Trends report reveals a 9% drop in vacancies in April alone, representing a 12% fall on the number of openings available at the start of 2016.

Pay rises given to the UK’s lowest paid workers in April appear to have prompted thousands of companies to hold back on recruitment and fewer jobs are being advertised in 12 out of 13 sectors at higher wages, while Brexit uncertainty weighs on employer confidence.

The monthly report, which tracks levels of recruitment in 13 sectors, found that only one – hospitality – saw an increase in job listings in April, likely to be the result of seasonal factors.

The pay rises resulting from the National Living Wage have been spread unevenly across the country, with workers in North East England enjoying the greatest benefit. Around 6% of jobs advertised in the North East during the first quarter of 2016 paid less than the £7.20 per hour that is now the legal minimum for workers aged 25 and over.

This compares with just 2.2% of jobs listed in South East England and London during the same period, suggesting that nearly three times as many workers in the North East, as a share of the regional workforce, will have received a pay rise in April. Other areas with high numbers of jobs paying less than the National Living Wage included Northern Ireland (5.9%), Wales (5.3%) and Scotland (4.8%).

Mariano Mamertino, Economist at Indeed, commented: “While thousands of the UK’s lowest paid workers received a welcome boost to their April pay packet, the benefits have inevitably been concentrated in regions with higher numbers of poorly paid jobs – like North East England, Northern Ireland and Wales.

“The combination of business uncertainty about the potential impact of a Brexit, the slowdown of the economy amid global economic headwinds and a sudden increase in the wage bill for many firms has triggered a sharp cooling in the jobs market.”