Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2016 to Question 906599, for what reason that Answer does not refer to unemployment levels.

Damian Hinds

The Department has made no assessment of the effect of the National Living Wage on employment levels. However, in 2015 the Office for Budget Responsibility estimated that the National Living Wage would have a +0.2 percentage point impact on the unemployment rate by April 2020 – equivalent to around 60,000 people.

The Government is committed to reducing long-term unemployment and youth unemployment, and the overall unemployment rate is currently at the historically low level of 4.9%. The Government will also continue to consider advice on increases of the National Living Wage from the Low Pay Commission, whose remit it is to make sure that wages rise to reward workers while considering the impact on the economy.