WOMEN, disabled people, ethnic minorities and young workers have been “consistently trapped” in insecure employment over the last 20 years, new research published today suggests.

The study by the Work Foundation think tank, found that these four groups are the worst affected by severe job insecurity, defined as those who have volatile pay or hours, such as zero-hours contracts, are in non-permanent work or are in low-paid self-employment. 

Young workers are two-and-a-half times more likely to be in severely insecure work than those in the middle of their working lives, said the think tank. 

Women are more likely to be in severely insecure work than men, with the same found when comparing ethnic minority workers with their white colleagues, and disabled staff compared to non-disabled people, the report, published today found. 

The report also found that those in insecure work were more likely to have lost their jobs during the pandemic. 

The think tank warned that these workers are now among the most at risk of being affected by the growing cost-of-living crisis. 

Work Foundation director Ben Harrison said: “Wages have stagnated and, while millions more people may be in employment, the quality and security of the jobs they are in often means they are unable to make ends meet.”

About 3.7 million people are in low-paid insecure forms of work, according to research last year by the Living Wage Foundation. 

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady accused ministers of failing to act to improve rights and protections for workers. 

“Instead of tackling insecure work, ministers have sat on their hands and allowed it to flourish,” she said.

“In the midst of a cost-of-living emergency, it’s more important than ever that the government clamps down on low-paid precarious work.”