§ Mr. David Priceasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest estimate of the proportion of total costs that is represented by wages, salaries and dependent staff costs in the economy as a whole and in the manufacturing and retailing sectors, respectively.
§ Mr. Denzil DaviesThe total of home costs in the economy as a whole is the gross domestic product measured at factor cost, from which incomes are derived as income from employment, self-employment, trading profits and rent. Income from employment—which includes salaries and wages and employers' contributions to National insurance and superannuation funds—absorbed 73 per cent. of the gross domestic product in 1974, compared with 69 per cent. in 1973.
The latest year for which an industry analysis is available is 1973, when the corresponding ratios, of income from employment to the output generated in each industry, were for manufacturing 78 per cent., and for the distributive trades as a whole 67 per cent. Estimates for the retail trade alone are not available.