Labour Costs in Oecd Countries,1964-1975

Abstract

British wage costs per hour, including social charges, had—by 1974—become the lowest among the fifteen industrial countries included in the comparison in this note ; this competitive advantage of British industry was however partly or entirely offset by lower labour productivity. Hourly earnings in money terms were not rising outstandingly rapidly in Britain in this period, but since consumer prices increased faster, the improvement in real earnings was slower than in most other countries.