§ Mrs. EwingTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the movement was between 1 April 1975 and 1 April 1998 in(a) the index of average non-manual earnings and (b) the Retail Prices Index. [60507]
§ Ms HewittThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Tim Holt to Mrs. Margaret Ewing, dated 19 November 1998:
As Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your recent question on the movement in the index of average non-manual earnings and the Retail Prices Index.The ONS does not produce an index of non-manual earnings. Information on average earnings is available from the New Earnings Survey (NES). Regrettably, the NES cannot provide data on a consistent basis for non-manuals, due to changes in the definition of non-manuals and in the definition of adult rates of pay. Comparisons of non-manual adult earnings over the period should be treated with some caution.The NES shows that the average gross weekly earnings for full-time non-manual employees on adult rates, whose pay for the survey period was not affected by absence, was £56.30 and £425.20 at April 1975 and 1998 respectively, an increase of 655 per cent.The percentage increase in all items retail prices index between 15th April 1975 and 21st April 1998, the relevant 'index days', was 397 per cent.