EAST Yorkshire is one of the worst places in the region for low-paid jobs, new figures reveal.

The TUC has released data which shows how in the East Yorkshire parliamentary constituency as many as 42 per cent of workers, and more than half of all working women, take home less than the living wage.

The area is the worst in the whole of the Yorkshire and Humber region in the overall figures, and shows women faring particularly badly, with 58 per cent earning less than £7.85 per hour.

York Central is dubbed a living wage “brightspot” with only 18.9 per cent of all jobs paying less than £7.85 per hour, although as many as 22 per cent of women are in low-wage jobs. The figures come from TUC analysis of the official annual survey of household incomes, and union officials say the figures make a lie of claims the economy is recovering.

Yorkshire and the Humber TUC regional secretary Bill Adams said: “These figures show that, for all the talk of recovery, life is incredibly tough for huge numbers of working people in our region.”

Extending the living wage is a vital step towards tackling the growing problem of in-work poverty in parts of Yorkshire and the Humber – and Britain as a whole.”