KEY INDICATORS

INFLATION +3.1% AVERAGE EARNINGS +4.3%

Full-time average weekly earnings

£pw

All workers 410.6

All male 453.3

All female 337.6

All non-manual 464.7

Female non-manual 367.1

Male non-manual 548.1

All manual 321.1

Female manual 233.2

Male manual 345.3

Source: New Earnings Survey, April 2000

Inflation and earnings Forecasts

2000 2001

Retail Price Index

Average 3.1 2.4

Range 1.8-3.6 1.6-3.2

Earnings, whole economy

Average 4.6 4.7

Range 3.8-5.2 4.0-6.0

Figures are for fourth quarter of year in each case. Average of around

40 independent forecasts published by the Treasury.

Earnings and pay

% annual rise LRD Whole Manu- Services1 Private Public average economy1 facturing1 sector1 sector1 pay deals2 1999

September 4.6 4.2 4.9 4.8 3.8 3.0

October 5.1 4.5 5.3 5.4 4.0 3.0

November 5.0 4.7 5.2 5.2 3.8 3.0

December 6.0 5.7 6.2 6.6 3.9 3.0

2000

January 6.3 5.5 6.5 6.7 4.4 2.5

February 5.4 4.7 5.5 5.6 4.4 2.5

March 5.1 4.5 5.2 5.5 3.7 2.7

April 4.5 4.5 4.7 4.6 4.3 3.0

May 4.0 5.1 3.5 4.2 3.3 3.0

June 3.8 4.4 3.5 3.9 3.5 3.0

July 3.9 4.4 3.7 3.9 3.5 3.0

August 4.2 4.1 4.3 4.4 3.4 3.3

September (p) 4.3 4.5 4.1 4.6 3.2 3.3

Headline rate

for September 3 4.1 4.3 3.8 4.3 3.3

1 Average weekly earnings in Great Britain, seasonally adjusted, as monitored by National Statistics. 2 The midpoint of pay settlements for the three months to July as monitored on the Labour Research Department's PayLine database. 3 The average of the earnings increase figures for the latest three months compared with a year earlier. (p) provisional

Retail prices

Retail price % increase index % excluding (Jan 1987 annual mortgage =100) increase payments 1999

July 165.1 1.3 2.2

August 165.5 1.1 2.1

September 166.2 1.1 2.1

October 166.5 1.2 2.2

November 166.7 1.4 2.2

December 167.3 1.8 2.2

2000

January 166.6 2.0 2.1

February 167.5 2.3 2.2

March 168.4 2.6 2.0

April 170.1 3.0 1.9

May 170.7 3.1 2.0

June 171.1 3.3 2.2

July 170.5 3.3 2.2

August 170.5 3.0 1.9

September 171.7 3.3 2.2

October 171.6 3.1 2.0

Source: National Statistics