XN000022-1983-09-25 — Page 3

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 1983

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SPECIAL REVIEW ARTICLE ON THE NEW WAGE SURVEY+

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A SPECIAL REVIEW ARTICLE, ENTITLED THE NEW WAGE SURVEY+, IS PUBLISHED IN THE JULY 1983 ISSUE OF THE HONG KONG MONTHLY DIGEST OF STATISTICS.

A NEW QUARTERLY SURVEY OF WAGES, SALARIES AND EMPLOYEE BENEFITS WAS RECENTLY INTRODUCED TO REPLACE THE OLD HALF-YEARLY WAGE SURVEY.

IN THE NEW SURVEY, A NUMBER OF NEW FEATURES WERE INTRODUCED TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF WAGE RATE STATISTICS FOR HONG KONG IN TERMS OF COVERAGE, RELIABILITY AND USEFULNESS.

THE SURVEY COLLECTS INFORMATION ON WAGE RATE WHICH IS USUALLY THOUGHT OF AS THE PRICE OF LABOUR. TO INDICATE THE CHANGES IN WAGE RATES, A NOMINAL WAGE INDEX AND A REAL WAGE

INDEX ARE COMPILED.

WHILE THE NOMINAL WAGE INDEX MEASURES THE CHANGES IN WAGE RATES IN MONEY TERMS, THE REAL WAGE INDEX, WHICH IS OBTAINED BY DEFLATING THE NOMINAL WAGE INDEX BY THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (A), MEASURES THE CHANGES IN THE PURCHASING POWER OF WAGES.

IN ADDITION, STATISTICS ON THE ABSOLUTE LEVEL OF WAGE RATES OF SELECTED OCCUPATIONS IN THE SURVEYED INDUSTRIES ARE. ALSO COMPILED.

STATISTICS ON THE EMPLOYEES' ENTITLEMENT TO DIFFERENT TYPES OF BENEFITS SUCH AS HOUSING, TRANSPORTATION, PENSION, ETC. ARE ALSO AVAILABLE.

THIS REVIEW ARTICLE CONSISTS OF TWO PARTS.

THE FIRST PART OUTLINES THE METHODOLOGY USED IN THE SURVEY, AND THE SECOND PART PROVIDES A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS OF THE SURVEY FINDINGS, COVERING THE FOLLOWING TOPICS-

(1) WAGE MOVEMENTS;

(11) WAGE LEVELS;

(ii) METHOD OF PAYMENT;

(IV) ESTABLISHMENT PAY PRACTICES; AND

V) NORMAL HOURS OF WORK.

FURTHER DETAILS ON THE NEW WAGE SURVEY ARE CONTAINED IN THE REVIEW ARTICLE. THE HONG KONG MONTHLY DIGEST OF STATISTICS IS AVAILABLE AT THE GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS SALES CENTRE, GENERAL POST OFFICE BUILDING, CONNAUGHT PLACE, HONG KONG AT $25 PER COPY.

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