§ Sir G. Jonesasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer by how much the cost of living, the general level of wage rates and the productivity of labour, per man hour or other convenient unit, at the latest available date exceeded the corresponding figures for the end of 1938, or nearest convenient date; and whether he will state the nearest comparable figures for U.S.A., Canada and Australia.
§ Sir J. AndersonIn the United Kingdom the official cost-of-living index has risen by approximately 29 per cent. since the end of 1938. The average level of hourly rates of wages is estimated by the Ministry of Labour and National Service to have risen by about 44 or 45 per cent. For the other countries named, the latest 605W figures given in official publications are summarised below:
United States of America: The official cost-of-living index for February, 1944, was between 23 and 24 per cent. above that for December, 1938. Statistics are not available for the average percentage increase in wage rates generally since 1938 or 1939.
Canada: The official cost-of-living index at 1st April, 1944, was nearly 18 per cent. higher than at the beginning of 1939. The official index of wage rates, in the third quarter of 1943, was between 21 and 22 per cent. higher than at the end of 1938.
Australia: The official cost-of-living index in the third quarter of 1943 was approximately 25 per cent. higher than that for the last quarter of 1938. The official index of nominal weekly wage rates for adult workmen rose by nearly 28 per cent. during the same period.
The differences between the percentage increases in the different countries may be partly due to differences in the bases of the respective index numbers and in the methods by which they are compiled. There are no available statistics comparing the average percentage increases, since 1938 or 1939, in the productivity of labour per man-hour in the countries named.