§ Mr. Biffenasked the Minister of Labour what is the estimated number of employees in the distribution trade; what is the average current level of their earnings; by what percentage it has changed over the past 12 months; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mrs. Shirley WilliamsThe estimated number of employees in employment in the distribution trades at mid-June, 1965, the latest date for which estimates have been made, was 2,961,900. It is estimated from a small household sample that their282W average earnings (including men, women, boys and girls both full-time and part-time) during 1965 were about £614 per annum and that the increase in earnings over 1964 was about 10 per cent. The average earnings of full-time men in 1965 were about £1,000—a rise of about 9½ per cent. compared with 1964. These figures are all subject to sampling error.