§ Mr. Ernie Rossasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish a table showing for each EEC country (a) the average gross weekly earnings of male and female workers in industry, (b) 427W the average annual rate of inflation and (c) the average annual unemployment rate at the latest available date.
§ Mr. Jim Lester[pursuant to his reply. 28 October 1980, c. 140]: The available data are shown in the following tables.
Comparable international data on earnings are not readily obtainable in the precise form requested. Figures for hourly earnings of manual workers in manufacturing industry for particular months are provided instead.
TABLE A: AVERAGE GROSS HOURLY EARNINGS OF MALE AND FEMALE MANUAL WORKERS IN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES National currencies Belgium Denmark* France Males Females Males Females Males Females 1978— April … 199 141 40.18 18.09 13.66 October … 204 145 41.84 18.91 14.49 1979— April … 213 151 45.21 20.45 15.52 Germany Ireland† Italy Males Females Males Females Males Females 1978— April … 12.44 9.04 — — 2,692 2,278 October … 12.66 9.23 — — — — 1979— April … 13.21 9.55 2.03 1.32 — — Luxembourg Netherlands United Kingdom Males Females Males Females Males Females 1978— April … 235 138 12.67 9.53 1.76 1.24 October … 225 136 12.93 9.72 1.88 1.31 1979— April … 243 136 13.38 10.07 2.02 1.40 (ii) Sterling‡ Belgium Denmark* France Males Females Males Females Males Females 1978— April … 3.39 2.40 3.89 2.12 1.60 October … 3.50 2.49 4.07 2.23 1.71 1979— April … 3.42 2.43 4.14 2.27 1.72 Germany Ireland† Italy Males Females Males Females Males Females 1978— April … 3.34 2.43 — — 1.63 1.38 October … 3.42 2.50 — — — — 1979— April … 3.36 2.43 2.03 1.32 — — Luxembourg Netherlands† United Kingdom Males Females Males Females Males Females 1978— April … 4.00 2.35 3.14 2.36 1.76 1.24 October … 3.86 2.33 3.22 2.42 1.88 1.31 1979— April … 3.90 2.18 3.15 2.37 2.02 1.40 *Males and females combined. † Data referring to March and September; adults only. ‡Converted at average market exchange rates for the corresponding periods. Source
Eurostat—"Wages and Incomes"—3–1980.
Eurostat—"Data for Short—Term Economic Analysis", 1–1980.
428WIt should be noted that definitions and methods of compilation of statistics vary between the countries, and therefore the figures are not fully comparable; in some cases they may vary from the standard national figures.
Particular caution is required in interpreting the earnings comparisons because they do not take account of differences in taxation and social benefits, and differences in the internal purchasing power of the various national currencies.
429W
TABLE B: AVERAGE RATES OF INCREASE ON A YEAR EARLIER IN CONSUMER PRICES INDICES Belgium Denmark France Germany Ireland Italy Luxembourg Netherlands United Kingdom 1978 … 4.5 10.0 9.1 2.7 7.6 12.1 3.1 4.1 8.3 1979 … 4.5 9.6 10.8 4.1 13.3 14.8 4.5 4.2 13.4 Source: OECD—"Consumer Price Indices", Special Issue—March 1980.
TABLE C: ANNUAL RATES OF UNEMPLOYMENT* (Per cent. of working population) Belgium Denmark France Germany Ireland Italy Luxembourg Netherlands United Kingdom 1978 … 8.4 6.5 5.2 3.9 8.7 7.1 0.7 4.1 5.7 1979 … 8.8 5.3 6.0 3.4 7.9 7.5 0.7 4.1 5.3 *Registered unemployed. Source: Eurostat—"Unemployment", 8–1980.