Scotland's Low Pay Numbers

Nearly four in every 10 workers in Scotland earn less than £20,000 a year.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics reveal that 2.0 million adults across the country had been employed for at least 12 months in 2018.

Some 768,000 of those - or 38.6 per cent - earned less than £20,000.

Campaigners warned that people on low pay often have "nothing left" after they've paid for things like rent and bills - and said many will be going hungry and relying on high cost credit.

The human health and social work industry had the highest number of employees in Scotland earning under £20,000 - at 170,000.

Matthew Geer, campaigns manager at poverty charity Turn2us, said: “It is really concerning that the majority of people in poverty are in working households – 50% of people who came to Turn2us for help over the last year were in work.

“The myth that work is a direct route out of poverty is often based on Victorian perceptions of the deserving and undeserving poor.

“It is outdated and doesn’t reflect the economic issues facing millions in modern Britain.

“People stuck in low paid jobs often have nothing left once they have paid their rent, childcare and bills.

“Often this leads to relying on high cost credit, hunger, and at the worst end of the spectrum, severe poverty.”

Across the UK there were 8.7 million workers who took home less than £20,000 in 2018.

They made up 39.1 per cent of the country’s workforce.

The news comes as a report from the Low Pay Commission estimated that 439,000 people across the UK were illegally paid less than the minimum wage last year, with women and young workers most at risk.