HC Deb 22 September 1943 vol 392 cc220-1W
Sir G. Jones

asked the President of the Board of Trade what was the comparative output per head, by way of index numbers or other convenient basis, in the coalmining industry and the iron and steel foundries industry for the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States of America for the three years before the war and for the period since the war?

Mr. Dalton

As regards coalmining, I would refer my hon. Friend to my right hon. and gallant Friend the Minister of Fuel and Power. Owing to differences in classification, I am unable to give any comparison for iron and steel foundries.

Sir G. Jones

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has any figures to show the respective shares of wages in the value of the net output of industry in Britain, Germany and the United States of America before, and since the war, respectively?

Mr. Dalton

No information is available for any year since the outbreak of war. The following figures for the factory trades are given in the respective censuses of production.

Year. Wages as percentage of net output.
United Kingdom 1935 44
United States 1935 39
1937 40

In the German census, wages are combined with salaries; an unofficial estimate, which may not be comparable with the figures for the United Kingdom and the United States, gives wages alone as 32 per cent. of net output.