§ Mr. Pattieasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give, for the latest 12-month period for which comparable information is available (a) the percentage increase in unit labour costs in manufacturing and (b) the percentage increase in average industrial earnings, for each member of the EEC, the United States of America, Canada and Japan, respectively.
§ Mr. Golding:The available information is provided in the following table. For comparative purposes, unit labour costs are given in terms of wages and salaries per unit of output. In making comparisons, it is important to note that there are differences between countries in coverage and in methods of compilation.
Percentage change from the second quarter 1977 to the second quarter 1978 in: (a) Unit labour costs in manufacturing (wages and salaries per unit of output) (b) Earnings per head in manufacturing United Kingdom +13 +15 (1) Belgium +8 (2) (5) Denmark +10 (2) (6) France +12 (3) Germany (Federal Republic) +5 (6) +5 (2) Irish Republic +13 (2) (8) Italy +16 (3) Netherlands +6 (3) United States +7 +9 (2) (7) Canada +3 +6 (2) Japan —2 +7 (4) Notes: (1) Weekly earnings (all employees). (2) Hourly earnings. (3) Hourly wage rates. (4) Monthly earnings. (5) Including mining and transport. (6) Including mining. (7) Production workers. (8) Based on first quarters' figures. Not available. Sources: Department of Employment Gazette. OECD—Main Economic Indicators.