HC Deb 06 May 1981 vol 4 cc67-8W
Mr. Freud

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will publish in the Official Report, (a) the national average wage, (b) the average wage in Cambridgeshire, (c) the median national wage and (d) the median wage in Cambridgeshire, and the percentage of full-time workers who received less than that figure in each case for each of the last five years.

Mr. Peter Morrison

Information for adult male employees is given in the following table:

Males Aged 21 and Over in Full-time Employment*
1976 1977 1978 1979 April 1980
Great Britain
Average† weekly earnings (£) 71.8 78.6 89.1 101.4 124.5
Percentage of employees earning less than average 60 60 60 59 61

1976 1977 1978 1979 April 1980
Median‡ earnings (£) 65.8 72.3 82.0 93.9 113.3
Cambridgeshire
Average† Weekly earnings (£) 69.8 75.7 85.9 101.9 118.8
Percentage of employees earning less than average 60 62 62 60 61
Median‡ earnings (£) 63.3 68.6 77.0 92.9 108.6

Source: New Earnings Survey

* Whose pay for the survey period was not affected by absence. Both manual and non-manual employees are covered.

† Arithmetic average.

‡ By definition, half of employees earn less than median earnings.

Differences in average or median earnings in particular areas within Great Britain will reflect differences in industrial and occupational structures of employment, and do not necessarily correspond to differences in pay for comparable jobs.