WINCHESTER has one of the highest proportions of living wage jobs in Hampshire, new figures reveal.

But more than one in 10 jobs pay less than the £7.85 an hour deemed necessary for a decent standard of living.

Around 11,000 posts, 14.3 per cent of the district's total, pay below the voluntary rate set by the Living Wage Foundation.

Only Rushmoor, with 12 per cent, had a better record, according the Office for National Statistics. Southampton was level on 14.3 per cent.

The county's record is far greater than other parts of Britain, with the worst areas seeing nearly half their jobs pay less.

The national rate does not account for Winchester's high cost of living. The city was named the UK's second least affordable for housing in research by by Lloyds Bank last year.

The Halifax Quality of Life Survey published in December showed Winchester workers earn an average of £780 per week – or £19.50 an hour for a 40-hour week.

Gosport had Hampshire's worst rate of low-paid work at 23 per cent, while 18.8 per cent of Portsmouth jobs pay under £7.85.

The voluntary Living Wage is set to rise again on November 2 and could break the £8 mark for the first time. It has risen by 20p per hour in each of the last two years.

It is separate from the 'national living wage', a mandatory minimum wage rise announced by the Chancellor, George Osborne, in his summer Budget.