December 7, 1998. Copyright 1998. Graphic News. All rights 
reserved.

Wage gap continues to widen

LONDON, December 7, Graphic News: THE LATEST official earnings 
statistics show the wage gap between British manual and 
non-manual workers continues to grow.
	Labour Market trends, published by the Office of National 
Statistics, shows that average gross weekly earnings (including 
overtime payments) for all full-time adult employees to April 
this year amounted to £384. On average employees worked 40.2 
hours a week, including 2.3 hours overtime. Manual workers 
clocked up six hours more than their non-manual colleagues.
Average manual earnings were £307 per week Ð 72 percent of 
non-manual average earnings of £425.
The gap between hourly earnings of men and women continues to 
widen, with full-time women earning an average of £8.22 an hour 
compared with £10.26 for men.
Source: Office of National Statistics