asked the Taoiseach (a) if he will state the average wage of industrial workers in 1938, and (b), equating the 1938 average wage of industrial workers to 100, if he will give an index of industrial and agricultural wages in respect of each year since 1938.
Written Answers. - Industrial and Agricultural Wages.
(a) Information is not available which would make it possible to compute an average of the wage rates for industrial workers. It may, however, be stated that the average weekly earnings of all wage-earners in industries producing transportable goods was 43/10 in October, 1938.
(b) The following table gives for each year subsequent to 1938, (i) the average weekly earnings index numbers in October, to base October, 1938=100, for wage-earners in industries producing transportable goods and (ii) the index numbers of agricultural wage rates in July, to base July, 1938=100, based on the minimum wage rates payable under the Agricultural Wages (Minimum Rates) Orders to male agricultural workers of 19 years and upwards. In July, 1938, the average agricultural wage rate, as defined, was 27/3.
|
Year |
Index Numbers of average weekly earnings of wage-earners in industries producing transportable goods in October of each year |
Index Numbers of minimum agricultural wage rates in July of each year |
|
base October |
base July |
|
|
1938=100 |
1938=100 |
|
|
(i) |
(ii) |
|
|
1938 |
100 |
100 |
|
1939 |
102.2 |
100.9 |
|
1940 |
105.9 |
111.0 |
|
1941 |
107.1 |
111.0 |
|
1942 |
109.9 |
122.0 |
|
1943 |
118.9 |
133.0 |
|
1944 |
127.6 |
147.7 |
|
1945 |
133.3 |
147.7 |
|
1946 |
143.2 |
166.1 |
|
1947 |
169.8 |
188.1 |
|
1948 |
186.3 |
206.4 |
|
1949 |
194.2 |
224.8 |
|
1950 |
201.0 |
224.8 |
|
1951 |
218.9 |
252.3 |
|
1952 |
233.0 |
271.6 |
|
1953 |
248.0 |
299.1 |
|
1954 |
254.7 |
313.8 |
|
1955 |
268.8 |
313.8 |
|
1956 |
285.0* |
355.0 |
|
1957 |
286.2† |
355.0 |
*September.
†June.