Careers:TOPICS

Unemployment among office workers seems to have had no direct effect on the rates of pay of those who remain in employment. Indeed office salaries in the south of England, where there is less general unemployment, have in the year ended 1 March increased less than those in Scotland and in the north of England, where unemployment is greater. There are a few signs that the introduction of new office technology, notably word processing and visual display equipment, may have reduced the number of office jobs now available. These are some of the findings of the latest Office Salaries Analysis 1981 published by The Institute of Administrative Management. Unemployment among school leavers also does not seem to have had an influence in lowering the rates paid to younger office staff. The strength of trade unions and perhaps, even more, differing social attitudes towards the payment of a “fair” wage suggest that the price of labour no longer responds as directly as in the past to the law of supply and demand. Where the rates of younger office staff are concerned, the fact that many manual workers now receive adult rates at 18 also seems to be a strong influencing factor.