§ Mr. Tom Benyonasked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the average weekly earnings in the EEC member States in their national currencies and in £ sterling at the latest date for which comparable figures are available. available.
§ Mr. Jim LesterThe following table gives the latest available information. Corresponding figures for Italy and Denmark are not available.
Owing to differences in national definitions and methods of compilation, the figures are not fully comparable. Moreover, international comparisons of earnings statistics are not meaningful unless 298W account is taken of (i) differences in taxation and social benefits, (ii) differences in internal purchasing power which are not reflected by market exchange rates, and (iii) in the case of weekly earnings, the differences in the average number of hours worked.
AVERAGE GROSS WEEKLY EARNINGS OF MALE AND FEMALE MANUAL WORKERS IN INDUSTRY—OCTOBER 1978: National currency £ sterling Belgium … 7,294 BFR 125 France … 724 FF 85 Germany(FR) … 503 DM 136 Irish Republic* … 73 £ 73 Luxembourg … 8,402 LFR 144 Netherlands … 532 HFL 132 United Kingdom … 74 £ 74 * Relates to manufacturing industry only—September 1978. SourcesEurostat: Hourly Earnings, Hours of Work, Rapid Information Sheet October 1979; Irish Industrial Inquiries: Fourth Quarter, 1978.