A recalculation of the living wage in the island has seen it increased from £8.61 an hour to £9.76.

The living wage is a voluntary rate of pay which is calculated with reference to the cost of a normal living.

It is separate to the legally enforceable minimum wage.

The living wage was set at £8.61 an hour when it was established in 2017.

A second report on the Isle of Man Living Wage has been published by the Cabinet Office’s economic affairs unit and it has now calculated the rate to be £9.76 per hour.

Most of the increase results from a change to the baskets of goods and services for singles and couples without children.

The most significant change to the baskets for these household types is a move from using one-bedroom social housing to using privately rented accommodation.

Minister for Policy and Reform Chris Thomas MHK explained that the cost of living was different for different household types.

He said: ’A couple only needs to earn £6.55 an hour each for a living wage, whereas a single person with one child needs to earn £18.12, according to the report.

’The new report is more comprehensive than the first one and includes estimates of the cost of living for pensioners as well as working individuals and families.

’All of these estimates are helpful as public policy is honed to alleviate poverty and improve the standard of living for those who are struggling to get by.’

The national living wage in the UK, introduced in 2016, is simply a renamed version of the minimum wage for workers aged over 25, and is not calculated with any reference to the cost of living.