WOMEN now outnumber men in Burnley's workplaces - but often they are in low-paid jobs.

With 18,400 females among the borough's 36,100 workers, Burnley has the fourth highest proportion of women workers in the North West.

And because women are more likely than men to be on low pay the government's planned national minimum wage will mean a bigger-than-average increase in local families' spending power and could lead to an economic boom Burnley.

"A few years ago only a small minority of regions saw women outnumber men in employment," said Ernest Hughes, North-West secretary of the general union GMB.

"The national minimum wage is good news for the people whose pay will rise. It is also good news for local economies where women now outnumber men."

TUC general council member Donna Covey said: "With so many women in the workplace the introduction of a national minimum wage will bring huge rewards.

"Many women have recently had the chance to take up employment opportunities, but often they are in low-paid, part-time or casual work. These are the sectors that will benefit most from the minimum wage."

In Lancashire as a whole there are still more men in work than women, and in Pendle men make up 54.3 per cent of the workforce.

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