§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is his estimate of hourly manufacturing labour costs, indexed with the United Kingdom as 100, in West Germany, France, the United States of America and Japan in 1979 and 1989, and what is his estimate of an index of labour costs in the same countries in the same years, using an index of manufacturing productivity calculated on the same basis.
§ Mr. NichollsInternational comparisons of hourly manufacturing labour costs (excluding recruitment and training costs and costs of facilities and services) are made periodically by the United States Bureau of Labour Statistics. Available data from this source are as follows:
Index UK=100 1980 1988 United Kingdom 100 100 West Germany 166 172 France 120 124 United States 132 133 Japan 76 121 Manufacturing productivity data on the same basis are not available.