§ Mr. Gouldasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the annual increase in output per head of the working population from October 1974 to May 1979 and from May 1979 to date; and how the figures compare in each case with those for other industrial countries.
§ Mr. LawsonFigures of output per head in the United Kingdom are usually published on the basis of numbers employed, that is, employees in employment plus self-employed persons. The working population includes the unemployed excluding students. The estimates following have been compiled on the definition requested but data on output and working population from which they are derived are available only quarterly:
Annual rate of change in output per head of the working population Per cent. 1974 Q4 to 1979 Q2 +1¾ 1979 Q2 to 1982 Q4 -1½ Any comparison between these periods is affected by their timing in relation to the economic cycle. Further, output was somewhat inflated in 1979 Q2 by the recovery from the adverse weather and road haulage dispute at the beginning of that year.
Comparisons with other industrial countries on a consistent basis are too costly to compile and validate.