§ Mr. Gryllsasked the Secretary of State for Industry whether he will show for each year since 1960 the cost of wages and salaries in United Kingdom manufacturing industry as a proportion of the total costs of United Kingdom manufacturing industry.
§ Mr. MacGregorThe information is given below in respect of the years for which figures are available:
Year Wages and Salaries as percentage of total manufacturing costs 1963 24 1968 24 1970* 25 1971* 26 1972* 26 1973 24 1974 22 1975 24 1976 22 1977 21 1978 22 1979 22 Figures which are in terms of current costs have been derived from the results of the censuses of production. * Figures for these years are inflated to the extent that information on the cost of non-industrial services is not available. Otherwise, changes in both definitions and the range of data collected on costs are not thought to have any marked influence on the percentages quoted.