One in five low-paid men are no longer in full-time work – with a FOUR-FOLD increase in poorer men going part-time
Economists said it was impossible to know whether the huge shift was down to a lack of full-time work in sectors such as catering and retail or a lifestyle choice
ONE IN FIVE low-paid men are working less than 30 hours a week - sparking a huge pay gap between British blokes.
A study last night revealed a dramatic FOUR-FOLD rise in the number of poorly paid 25 to 55 year-old men taking up part-time work.
In 1994, just one in 20 low-paid men were working less than 30 hours a week.
But the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) said this figure had soared to one in five – an increase of around 300,000 men "in their prime".
The top economists said it was impossible to know whether the huge shift was down to a lack of full-time work in sectors such as catering and retail or a lifestyle choice.
IFS senior research economist Andrew Hood told the Sun: "It could be that many of these low paid men cannot find full-time jobs anymore."
But experts last night said it was "fuelling inequality".
The IFS said rich blokes now earn five and-a-half-times more each week than low-paid men – £1,100 a week against £200.
This compares with four times as much in the mid-1990s.
Stephen Clarke, economist analyst at the Resolution Foundation, said: "Women still dominate low paid and part-time work.