HC Deb 07 June 1988 vol 134 cc523-4W
Mr. John Marshall

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the growth in productivity in the United Kingdom since 1983; and what equivalent figures he has for productivity of each of the economies subject to the European monetary system.

Mr. Lilley

One measure of the productivity of labour is real GDP divided by the number of persons employed. GDP figures for the United Kingdom, on the average basis, are given in "Economic Trends", April 1988, page 6 and for the other countries in the "OECD National Accounts", volume 1. Figures for civilian employment for all the countries can be found in "Eurostat", March 1988, page 39.

Mr. Jack

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the annual growth of productivity for the whole economy since 1980.

Mr. Major

Between 1980 and 1987, output per head in the whole economy increased by 20.5 per cent. This represents an annual average increase of 2.7 per cent. over the period.