The figure – produced by the resolution foundation – is equivalent to 20 per cent of employees.
25 per cent of women were paid below the living wage in 2012, in comparison to 15 per cent of men
Although employers are obliged to pay minimum wage, there is no legal requirement to pay the living wage, which is currently £7.45 an hour, or £8.55 in London.
The research also found that 77 per cent of employees aged under 20, and two-thirds of restaurant and hotel workers, earned less than the living wage.
It found that 25 per cent of women and 15 per cent of men were paid below the living wage in 2012 – up from 18 per cent and 11 per cent in 2009.
It comes after Labour MP Rachel Reeves said research by the House of Commons library suggested 60 per cent of new jobs created since May 2010 were in low-pay sectors where median hourly pay is less than a quarter of the national hourly median.
She described an ‘economy, that, for far too many people, seems only to offer work that is insecure, poorly paid and – in the worst cases – simply exploitative.’
The party has asked Chairman of KPMG Alan Buckle to consider how a future government can best work with employers to enable more of their staff to earn a living wage including the introduction of ‘living wage zones.’
The Conservative party are also looking at ways to raise the national minimum wage according to the BBC - including offering tax breaks to companies paying a wage level higher than the current national hourly minimum of £6.19.