Counting the costs of a living wage

The national living wage came into force this month. Matthew Lynn predicts five long-term consequences to look out for in the economy.

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In the unlikely event that any MoneyWeek readers are among the lowest earners in the UK, then today you are getting a pay rise. On1 April the national living wage cameinto force, after being unveiled in the Budget last year. Anyone over 25 will have to be paid at least £7.20 an hour, with the rate projected to rise to £9 an hour by 2020. With inflation close to zero, that's a chunky rise anyone on the existing minimum of £6.70 per hour will see their pay rise by 7.5%.

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Matthew Lynn

Matthew Lynn is a columnist for Bloomberg, and writes weekly commentary syndicated in papers such as the Daily Telegraph, Die Welt, the Sydney Morning Herald, the South China Morning Post and the Miami Herald. He is also an associate editor of Spectator Business, and a regular contributor to The Spectator. Before that, he worked for the business section of the Sunday Times for ten years. 

He has written books on finance and financial topics, including Bust: Greece, The Euro and The Sovereign Debt Crisis and The Long Depression: The Slump of 2008 to 2031. Matthew is also the author of the Death Force series of military thrillers and the founder of Lume Books, an independent publisher.