The government have announced that the national minimum wage will once again increase in October, despite the tough economic conditions. The rise, which will be 2.5% was recommended by the independent Low Pay Commission (LPC).
The changes which – according to business secretary Vince Cable – will help 890,000 low paid workers will be following:
- over-20s: up 15p (2.5%) to £6.08
- 18-20 year-olds: up 6p (1.2%) to £4.98
- 16-17 year-olds: up 4p (1.1%) to £3.68
- apprentices: up 10p to (4%) £2.60.
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber believes that the ‘modest’ rise in wages should help to stimulate the economy, with people having more money to spend, whilst opposition to the move claim it will ‘price young people out of the jobs market’.
In line with Brendan Barber’s opinions, this move could well help to stimulate the economy, more specifically the online one. With ecommerce constantly growing, and online activities becoming more and more common with young people, giving them more money is likely to cause them to spend more of it online, which is what the government, and business, will want.
For more information regarding on-line business and e-commerce, please call our friendly team on 01623 650333.
Leave a Reply