1.4
Domestic
demand was generally firm in the third
quarter of 1986. Private consumption demand showed a further improvement, as indicated by the year-on-year growth rates in real terms of about 7% in the retained imports of foodstuffs and of about 6% in the retained imports of consumer goods.
The latest figures on retail sales also indicate an improvement in the demand for some major consumer items such foodstuffs and clothing. At the same time, there was a
revival in investment demand, as indicated
indicated by a year-on-year
rate of about growth
10% in real terms in the retained
imports of capital goods. Of particular note is the strong recovery in the retained imports of industrial machinery for use in the manufacturing sector in the first nine months of
1986 (paragraph 2.10).
as
The labour market and the property market
1.5
The unemployment rate and the underemployment rate for the labour force as a whole improved in the third quarter of 1986 compared with the preceding quarter (paragraph 4.1). With the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate at 2.8% and the underemployment rate at 1.3%, the labour force was effectively fully employed during the third quarter.
1.6
•
Comparing June 1986 with the same month in 1985, employment in the manufacturing and the services sectors increased (paragraphs 4.6 and 4.8), while employment on building and construction sites (including civil engineering sites) remained stable (paragraph 4.7) Over this period,
earnings in the manufacturing sector and in most of the services sectors, in terms of payroll per person engaged, increased rapidly both in money terms and in real terms (paragraphs 4.10 and 4.11), reflecting the favourable effect on labour incomes of the improved economic performance. Wage
rates in the construction
terms (paragraph 4.12).
industry industry also
increased
in real
2
/1.7
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