§ Mr. MacShaneTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the change in unit labour costs for each year since 1979 in(a) the United Kingdom, (b) the United States of America, (c) Japan, (d) Germany, (e) France, (f) Italy, (g) the Netherlands and (h) Sweden. [11820]
§ Mr. OppenheimThe information requested is shown in the table.
The figures are affected by short-term exchange rate movements which can bear no relation to the strength of economic fundamentals.
73W
Percentage change in unit labour costs in manufacturing industry since 1979 (in US$) Year United Kingdom United States of America Japan Germany France Italy Netherlands Sweden 1979 30.5 11.2 -5.8 12.5 14.5 13.0 10.2 5.4 1980 33.6 14.4 -0.9 11.4 15.5 8.8 5.3 10.9 1981 -3.9 6.0 5.0 -16.0 -12.7 -11.3 -18.8 -7.7 1982 -9.8 5.2 -11.7 -1.7 -8.3 -3.1 -2.9 -16.5 1983 -13.7 0.5 5.0 -5.2 -6.9 -0.9 -8.2 -15.5 1984 -9.7 1.9 -2.0 -9.1 -6.9 -9.7 -15.9 -3.9 1985 2.4 1.8 -2.7 -1.7 1.5 -2.2 -2.1 4.4 1986 18.2 1.5 51.3 40.3 33.0 31.9 38.6 28.3 1987 17.4 -4.0 10.1 28.0 17.4 18.1 23.9 17.5 1988 9.8 1.6 8.5 2.6 -2.0 1.2 0.0 8.6 1989 -2.7 3.4 -7.8 -5.2 -6.3 1.2 -9.3 1.9 1990 11.2 3.5 -4.4 19.5 21.2 22.5 18.0 18.4 1991 5.4 3.0 8.3 0.2 0.3 3.5 1.0 5.7 1992 5.0 2.0 11.1 13.5 7.9 2.9 11.9 3.2 1993 -12.8 0.1 16.9 -0.2 -4.5 -21.0 -3.8 -30.9 Source:
Prepared by United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Office of Productivity and Technology for 'Comparative manufacturing productivity and unit labour costs'
Monthly Labour Review, February 1995.