HL Deb 10 March 1987 vol 485 cc1043-4WA
Lord Diamond

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What were the comparable unit wage costs for the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan for each year subsequent to 1979, taking that year as 100 in each case.

The Secretary of State for Employment (Lord Young of Graffham)

Precise comparisons of the unit wage cost figures for different countries cannot be made because of differences in definitions. The available figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for manufacturing industry are shown below:—

UNIT WAGE COSTS IN MANUFACTURING
Annual United Kingdom2 West Germany3 1979=1001 Japan
1979 100 100 100
1980 122 108 103
1981 134 113 109
1982 140 I17 114
1983 140 116 116
1984 144 115 110
1985 152 115 112
1985 Quarter 3 154 115 111
1986 Quarter 3 160 120 115

Notes

1. Converted from indices base 1980=11, and therefore subject to rounding differences.

2. Published in Employment Gazette, February 1987, Table 5.7 with 1980=100.

3. Manufacturing and mining.

A copy of the relevant OECD publication Main Economic Indicators is available in the Library. 1986 Quarter 3 is the latest period for which figures are available for West Germany and Japan but these figures show that the rate of increase in the United Kingdom over the last year compares favourably with West Germany and Japan.