§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what would be the cost to the economy of industry moving towards a 35-hour working week across the board;
(2) how many additional jobs would be created if the average working week was reduced from 40 hours by (a) one hour, (b) three hours and (c) five hours;
(3) what would be the effect on Great Britain's competitive position if industry moved towards a 35-hour week across the board.
§ Mr. GoldingOn certain assumptions about the effects on productivity, output and overtime it is estimated that reducing normal weekly hours to 35 could create jobs for between 150,000 and 750,000 555W people of whom two-thirds would be expected to come from the unemployment register. If weekly earnings were maintained it is estimated that labour costs would increase by between 6 per cent. and 8 per cent. The effect of such an increase would weaken our competitive position unless our international competitors implemented an equivalent reduction.
On similar assumptions, reducing normal hours to 39 or 37 would have one-fifth or three-fifths of the effect respectively of a reduction to 35 hours.
An article on the effects of reducing the length of the normal working week will appear in the April Department of Employment Gazette.