EMPLOYMENT: Low-paid made to take two jobs

The number of people with two jobs has jumped by 37 per cent - from 917,000 to 1,263,000 - since the last election, according to analysis of official figures by the House of Commons library.

The figures, supplied to Ian McCartney, Labour's chief employment spokesman, also show that almost 2 million workers earn less than pounds 3 an hour and 342,000 less than pounds 1.50 an hour. Mr McCartney argues that low wages force people to take second jobs.

Labour has also claimed that two-thirds of Britain's 1.8 million unemployed have no qualifications. Stephen Byers, the party's employment spokesman, said the statistics showed the clear relationship between lack of educational qualifications and the likelihood of being jobless.

Nationally, 1.2 million without qualifications are unemployed. Men aged 18-24 with no qualifications have only a 50-50 chance nationally of being in work, and only a one-third chance in London. In the North, 65 per cent of unqualified men over 50 are without work.