§ Mr. Hannamasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the average gross hourly earnings in manufacturing industry and the economy as a whole at the latest available comparable date and expressed in terms of £ sterling in each member state of the European Community, Japan, the United States of America and Canada.
§ Mr. GummerThe latest available comparable figures relate to October 1981 and cover full time adult manual employees in the member states of the European Community. They are:
315W
Average gross hourly earnings (£) of adult manual employees in manufacturing industry in October 1981 Based on exchange rates* Based on purchasing power parities† United Kingdom 2.68 2.68 Federal German Republic 3.41 3.11
Based on exchange rates* Based on purchasing power parities† France 2.52 2.43 Italy 2.21 2.96 Netherlands 3.20 2.97 Belgium 3.58 3.51 Luxembourg 3.69 3.83 Irish Republic 2.38 2.77 Denmark 4.17 3.71 Greece 1.33 1.78 Source: Eurostat Statistical Bulletin on Wages and Salaries (6–1982, published November 1982) * Based on sterling exchange rates in October 1981 † As differences in exchange rates do not necessarily indicate equivalent differences in the purchasing power of earnings in different countries, figures have been prepared by Eurostat which take account of relative price levels in each country and which modify the picture given by using exchange rates. Comparable figures for the whole economy and for Japan, the United States of America and Canada are not available.