Almost six million people now earn below the Living Wage across the UK, including some 488,000 in Scotland, with the number outside London having increased to almost one in four, official figures show.

The figure for the UK capital has increased by six per cent to a total of 19 per cent - the same as in Scotland - but well below the rest of the UK. Northern Ireland has the highest proportion at 29 per cent.

In Scotland, the area with the highest number of workers paid below the Living Wage is Angus at 33 per cent; the City of Edinburgh has the lowest at 13.6 per cent.

The Living Wage, as recommended by the Living Wage Foundation, which sets the rate, is a voluntary pay standard that covers the basic cost of living. The voluntary rates of £7.85 an hour outside London and £9.15 in the UK capital are due to be uprated next month.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that the proportion of jobs paying less than the Living Wage outside London rose from 21 per cent to 23 per cent between April 2012 and April 2014.

It suggested the rise could be the result of general wage stagnation after the economic downturn of 2008-2009, accompanied by a recovery in demand for low-skill, low-pay workers by 2013-2014.

Around 200 firms have agreed to pay the national Living Wage in recent months with more expected to sign up before a new rate is set next month.

There are now more than 1800 accredited Living Wage employers, ranging from leading banks such as Barclays, RBS and HSBC to small organisations employing a handful of staff.

Accredited employers commit to paying staff at least the UK and London rates as well as sub-contractors working on their premises.

New rates will be announced on November 2 at the start of Living Wage Week, likely to see the UK rate edge towards £8 an hour.

The figures are higher than the national Minimum Wage, which increased by 20p an hour to £6.70 this month, and compared with the national Living Wage announced by the UK Government of £7.20 which will come into force for over 25-year-olds next April.

Outside London, the area with the most jobs below the Living Wage was West Somerset at 41.9 per cent; the area with the fewest was Runnymede at 8.5.

Within London, Harrow had the highest number at 41.8 per cent; the City of London had the lowest at just 5.2.

In Scotland, the numbers included: Dumfries and Galloway 28.8 per cent; Perth and Kinross 26.7; Highland 23.2 per cent; Argyll and Bute 22.4; Moray 22.2; Borders 21.7; North Lanarkshire 18.5 and Glasgow City 16.5.

Of the near six million jobs in the UK paying less than the Living Wage in 2014, over half were part-time positions.

In the two years to April 2010 the proportion of jobs paying less than the Living Wage in London was stable at around 13 per cent but it rose to almost one in five by April 2014.

In 2014, a higher percentage of women’s jobs were paid less than the Living Wage compared with men’s jobs: 22 per cent and 18 per cent respectively in London and 29 per cent 18 per cent across the UK.

This equates to 3.6 million female employee jobs below the Living Wage in the UK in 2014, compared with 2.3m male employee jobs.

Some 48 per cent of jobs in the 18-24 age group in London and 58 per cent of jobs in this age group elsewhere in the UK were paid less than the Living Wage.

The industry which saw the highest proportion of jobs paying less than the Living Wage was accommodation and food services at an estimated 65 per cent in London and 70 per cent in the rest of the UK.

There was also a high proportion of below-Living Wage jobs in retail with 55 per cent of retail jobs in London and 59 per cent outside the UK’s capital city.

Employee jobs were also particularly likely to be below the Living Wage in the cleaning and care sectors, which have been identified as vulnerable to low wages by the Low Pay Commission.

Frances O’Grady, the TUC general secretary, said: "Everybody deserves a fair day's pay for an honest day's work. But with more and more jobs paying less than the Living Wage, it is clear that millions of workers are not getting their fair share from the economic recovery.

"It's particularly shocking that so many more women than men are denied the Living Wage. We need to value women's work more. And we need employers in sectors with large female workforces, such as care services, retail and hospitality, to give their staff fairer pay.”

She added: "The Government's Trade Union Bill will make it even harder for people to get fair wages. It will shift the balance of power in the workplace towards employers, making it harder to bring poverty-pay bosses to the negotiating table. If the Government really wanted to deliver fairer pay it would be working with trade unions not against them."

Steve Turner, assistant general secretary at Unite, called for the Living Wage to be made compulsory at £10 an hour, saying Britain's companies, with strong cash reserves, could “well afford to pay it”.

Noting how next April’s tax credit cuts could cost three million low-wage families £1000 a year, he said: “The dismal failure of employers to pay the Living Wage disproportionately hits those in low-paid, insecure work and also women.

"The phoney national Living Wage of £7.20, coming into force for the over 25-year-olds next April, is already inadequate in providing a decent income," added Mr Turner.

A spokesman for the Living Wage Foundation said: "Despite significant progress in many sectors, more jobs than ever are below the voluntary Living Wage rates that we recommend.

"These figures demonstrate that while the economy may be recovering as a whole, there is a real problem with ensuring everyone benefits, and low pay in still prevalent in Britain today.

"The best employers are not waiting for government to act. Around 1800 responsible employers already pay the Living Wage to their staff. The Living Wage offers great benefits to business including reduction in turnover and higher productivity, while 70 per cent of consumers say they would prefer to shop with a Living Wage employer," he added.