HC Deb 21 January 1980 vol 977 cc21-2W
Mr. Ernie Ross

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish a table comparing average weekly wages in Dundee and Scotland for (a) men aged 21 years and over and (b) women aged 18 years and over; and if he will give a breakdown as follows: (i) manual, (ii) non-manual and (iii) all occupations.

Mr. Jim Lester

Separate figures for Dundee are not readily available; but for Tayside (including Dundee) the latest figures, relating to April 1979, are as follows:

Average gross weekly earnings (£) of full-time employees whose pay was not affected by absence
Tayside Scotland
Men aged 21 and over
Manual 93.6 82.5
Non-manual 113.0 105.0
All occupations 101.2 91.0
Women aged 18 and over
Manual 54.3 54.2
Non-manual 63.0 61.5
All occupations 60.4 58.9
Source:
New Earnings Survey, April 1979

The difference in average earnings between areas will reflect differences in the composition of the labour force, including those arising from the structures of industry, and does not necessarily imply a difference for comparable jobs.

Mr. Ernie Ross

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the present wages of all male and female local authority workers in Dundee and Scotland; and what percentage of the weekly wages of full-time male and female workers in Scotland they represent.

Mr. Jim Lester

Separate details for local authority workers in Dundee are not readily available. For Scotland the available figures are as follows:

Average weekly earnings of full-time employees whose earnings were not affected by absence
Local authority employees in Scotland Column (1) as percentage of Local average earnings of all employees in Scotland
(1) (2)
£ Percentage
Males 88.2 91.4
Females 58.4 99.2
Source: New Earnings Survey, April 1979.

The difference between the average earnings of local authority employees and that of all employees will reflect differences in composition, including the number of skilled and unskilled, manual and non-manual, and so on, employees. It does not necessarily imply a difference for comparable jobs.