§ Mr. Gouldasked the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the percentage reduction in employment in manufacturing between 1970 and the latest available date in the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Germany, France, Italy and Japan; and to what he ascribes the faster rate of reduction in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. GoldingThe following table gives the percentage change between 1970 and 1976 in the civilian labour force engaged in the manufacturing industries—defined as orders III to XIX of the standard industrial classification:
Percentage change Country 1976–1970 United Kingdom -12.9 United States of America - 1.0 Federal Republic of Germany -17.2 France + 1.2 Italy + 4.8 Japan - 2.3 The decline of our manufacturing employment since 1970 has been brought about by many factors including the low level of output growth and lack of inter-national competitiveness.
SOURCES
OECD—Labour Force Statistics 1965–1976.
International Labour Office—Year Books of Labour Statistics.
Department of Employment.