Low-paid workers in UK more than twice as likely to lose job in pandemic

Job opportunities increasing for higher-paid staff in sign of growing inequality

The UK's lowest-paid workers are more than twice as likely to have lost their jobs in the coronavirus pandemic than higher-paid employees, according to a study revealing rising inequality amid the crisis.

The Institute for Employment Studies said one in 20 low-paid workers had fallen out of a job in each quarter since the pandemic struck - equivalent to 250,000 workers across Britain - compared with one in 50 of those on higher wages.