The Employment and Hours of Work Effects of the Changing National Minimum Wage

This report is about the employment impacts of National Minimum Wage (NMW) rises in the period 2001-2006. This was a period where the NMW rose substantially in excess of average earnings. The report presents results based on analysis of individual Labour Force Survey (LFS) data and Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) data together with local area analysis. The focus of the analysis is threefold. First, it investigates changes in wages as a response to increases in the NMW. Second, it analyses employment to see if changes in the NMW influenced individual job retention and job exit, job entry, local area employment and unemployment rates. Third, it focusses on analysis of hours worked to see if employers changed hours worked as a response to changes in the NMW.