HC Deb 24 June 1980 vol 987 c89W
Mr. Austin Mitchell

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what was the ratio of earnings in (a) manufacturing and (b) engineering to non-manufacturing in 1949, 1959, 1969 and 1979 in the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Germany and Japan.

Mr. Jim Lester

The available information for manufacturing industries is given in the following table. These estimates are not fully comparable between countries owing to differences in definitions and methods used to compile the statistics.

RATIO OF GROSS EARNINGS* IN MANUFACTURING TO EARNINGS IN NON-MANUFACTURING
Per cent.
1970 1979
United Kingdom† 106 107
United States of America‡ 105 112
Japan§ 92 89
* Earnings of both males and females.
† Average weekly earnings of full-time employees whose pay is not affected by absence.
‡ Average hourly earnings. Manual workers only. Non-manufacturing excludes agriculture.
§ Monthly earnings of regular workers in establishments with 30 or more workers. Non-manufacturing excludes agriculture.

Sources:

New Earnings Survey.

Monthly statistics of Japan.

International Labour Office: Quarterly Bulletin of Labour Statistics.

OECD Labour Force Statistics.

Data for earlier years or for the Federal Republic of Germany are not readily available on a consistent basis. Similar figures for engineering industries are not available.