asked the Taoiseach if he will indicate the relative growth of earnings in the public and private sectors over the period 1970 to 1980.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Earnings Growth.
8.
An approximate measure of the relevant growth in earnings requested by the Deputy can be obtained by comparing weekly industrial earnings per person in transportable goods industries with the average level of earnings per employee for employees of central government and local authorities.
I propose, therefore, with the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, to circulate in the Official Report a statement showing the information I have referred to for the period from 1970 to the latest available year.
Following is the statement:
|
Year |
Index of weekly industrial earnings in transportable goods industries |
Trend in average wages and salaries per person in central government* and local authorities |
|
1970† |
100.0 |
100.0 |
|
1971† |
115.0 |
113.4 |
|
1972† |
132.4 |
134.0 |
|
1973† |
157.4 |
158.0 |
|
1974 |
186.2 |
181.5 |
|
1975 |
238.1 |
237.5 |
|
1976 |
284.6 |
269.5 |
|
1977 |
334.2 |
294.6 |
|
1978 |
382.5 |
330.1 |
|
1979 |
440.2 |
n.a. |
*Excluding Post Office. n.a. = not available.
†For central Government and local authorities the year is the financial year commencing 1 April.
Could the Minister give the two figures, the percentage increase from 1970 to 1980 of industrial earnings and the percentage increase in relation to the average earnings of employees?
The growth of weekly industrial earnings in the period from 1970 to 1978, the latest year for which information is available, was 8¼ per cent a year or almost 2¼ per cent a year greater than the 16 per cent annual growth rate in the average earnings of employees in central Government and local authorities.