If you’re on the minimum wage of £5.73 per hour get ready for for a wage rise! Next October the minimum wage rises to £5.80 – that’s far less than the Trade Unions were demanding but that what it is.

And it has still angered business leaders who wanted a total wage freeze to help cope with the recession. A spokesman for the British Chamber of Commerce confirmed that they had pressed hard for a freeze to reflect the severity of the downturn and the daily job losses.

The increase will mean that an adult working 40 hours a week will earn £232 a week. The new minimum for 18 to 20 year olds will rise by 6p to £4.83 and the rate for 16 and 17 year olds rises by 4p to £3.57.

A spokesman for the Low Paid Commission said that nearly 1 million people will benefit from the increase.

Still ……. not a lot is it?