mand, with a resulting drop in the consum er price index. The rise in the index in February brought automatic pay raises to about 135, 000 workers, mostly in the aircraft indus try. The typical increase was 2 cents an hour. However, the increase in consumer prices meant that the buying power of the aver age factory worker’s paycheck declined in February, despite a small increase in dol lar amount. Average weekly earnings were $74.99 after taxes for a worker with three dependents!, up 5 per cent since a year ago, but, because of price rises, these earnings will buy only one per cent more than a year ago. Hardest hit by the rising cost of living is the citizen with a fixed income, or those living on pensions, and the salaried worker, whose paycheck is not automatically in creased as the cost of living rises.

77.3%