Number of Europeans coming to work in the UK is falling
February 26 2010 by Liam Clifford
There is a continuous decline in the number of immigrants coming to live in the UK from Central and Eastern Europe, according to new figures.
Provisional data from the Office for National Statistics has revealed
that just 68,000 migrant workers arrived from the new EU states in the
year to June 2009, compared to 100,000 the previous year. Separate data
shows there has also been a 36 per cent year-on-year reduction in the
number of National Insurance numbers issued to migrant workers from
Central and Eastern Europe. Given that migrant workers need NI numbers
in order to gain employment, this is likely to be the best measure of UK immigration and
the number of legal migrant workers in the UK.
John Philpott, chief economic adviser at the Chartered Institute of
Personnel and Development (CIPD), said the recession was to blame for
the arrival of fewer migrant workers to the UK: “The 15 per cent
decline in non-UK nationals allocated National Insurance numbers in the
year to June 2009 offers a provisional indication of the impact of the
recession on work-related migration,” he said. “The fact that the fall
was much bigger (36%) for EU migrants from central and eastern Europe,
suggests that the main factor has been lower demand for labour rather
than the impact of the introduction of the points-based migration
system.”
Philpott’s comment was in response to UK Immigration Minister Phil Woolas’
claim that the decline vindicated his government’s new points-based
immigration system.
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