HC Deb 02 July 1998 vol 315 c245W
Mr. Redwood

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the impact on unemployment of a one per cent. increase in average earnings unmatched by any increase in productivity. [48556]

Mrs. Liddell

Pay in all sectors, and at all levels, must be related to what can be afforded. Excessive wage growth would tend to raise unemployment, but the precise effect would depend upon why wages increased, and how employers and employees reacted to the increase.