U.K. EARNINGS RISE 7.6 PCT IN YEAR TO JANUARY
U.K. Average earnings rose a seasonally
adjusted 7.6 pct in the year to end-January after a 7.4 pct
rise in the year to December, the Department of Employment
said.
    The underlying rise was 7.5 pct after 7.75 pct in December.
    The January index, base 1980, was set at a provisional
seasonally adjusted 190.4, down from 193.4 in December.
    The underlying rise, adjusted for factors such as back-pay
and timing variations, had been steady at 7.5 pct from October
1985 to October 1986.
    Unit wage costs in U.K. Manufacturing industry rose 3.3 pct
in the three months to end January, on a year-on-year basis,
after a 3.1 pct rise in the three months to end December, the
Department of Employment said.
    In January, the unit wage rise in manufacturing industries
was 3.6 pct, unchanged from the December rise.
    The Department said the decline in the underlying rate of
rise in earnings reflected the reduced significance of bonus
payments in January compared with December.
    The actual increase reflected teacher pay settlements and
industrial action in the transport and communications sectors
in January 1987.
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