§ 16. Mr. Knoxasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the most recent figure for output in manufacturing industry; and how this compares with the figure for the same month seven years ago.
§ Mr. PattieThe hon. Member will appreciate that monthly data can be erratic. However, since the trough of the recession in 1981 manufacturing output has increased by 12 per cent. to reach a level of 104.1 in August 1986, based on 1980 equal to 100. This was some 2½ per cent. lower than the level of output in August 1979.