April's minimum wage increase has meant low-waged staff have shrunk the gap to middle-income earners to the lowest level ever recorded, new research has revealed.
Hourly salaries between those on the lowest pay and workers in the middle are on par with the mid-1970s when records began, the Resolution Foundation found.
Rises to the minimum wage have meant the typical worker only makes 1.5 times more than the lowest 10% of UK employees.
Economists would have to look back to the mid-90s to find the largest discrepancy between the low-paid and middle class when it rose to 1.8 times
The National Living Wage was hiked by 9.8% to £11.44 an hour in April to help households deal with the inflationary pressures over the last few years.