Raising minimum wage for care workers could boost Cumbria economy by £76m, study finds
New data shows the economic impact of a £15 minimum wage for care workers in every community in England.
New research published today by the TUC provides a local breakdown of the financial benefit to the care workforce, and the wider economic benefits, of raising wages to a fair minimum of £15 per hour across the social care sector.
The social care workforce accounts for £52 billion of England’s economy (GVA).
There are 1,790,000 posts in social care, but around 165,000 of these are vacant. The vacancy rate increased to a record 10.7 per cent in 2021/22.
According to the TUC, the shortage of care workers has led to a surge in the number of people waiting for social care assessments, and millions of hours of commissioned home care going unprovided.
They also found that nine out of ten care workers earn less than £15 per hour and many care workers are paid less than the real living wage (£10.90) and that almost a quarter (24 per cent) of workers in the sector are employed on zero-hours contracts.
The research finds that a £15 minimum wage across the social care sector would equate to an annual full-time wage of at least £29,250 for care workers.
It's believed Cumbria would get a 76 million pounds boost to it's economy if the wage of the workers was increase.
TUC Regional Secretary James McKenna said: "Most families need social care services at some point. And we all want to know our loved ones will receive a high standard of care. But that’s only possible if social care jobs in the North West are paid well enough to attract and retain the right people.
"We’re calling for a £15 per hour minimum wage across the adult social care sector. This will reduce staff turnover and help fill the thousands of vacancies in care services in the North West.
"There’s another upside. Our research shows that raising social care wages to £15 per hour will have wider economic benefits where care workers live and work. When they spend their higher wages, local businesses in the North West will get a boost. And that will support job creation and higher wages for other workers too."
When talking about Cumbria specifically, James said: "When the money they earn gets spent it goes back round the economy and goes round and round again.
"In places like Cumbria that 76 million pounds that's the boost we'll get to the rest of the economy. It's creating jobs, supporting other people, not just those working in social care, to have good well paying jobs."