UK immigration is essential for the country's future success
April 23 2009 by Bryan Palmer
Danny Dorling, a researcher for the Institute of Public Policy Research and a professor at Sheffield University, has added to the UK immigration debate by pointing out that, with an ageing population and falling birth rates, we need people to move to the UK from abroad in order to return to, and then maintain, economic growth.
Some have begun to blame the UK immigration intake for recent high unemployment and immigrants have even become scapegoats for blame over the recession itself.
Dorling’s research has looked at the more long-term immigration statistics; examining the way in which people move in and out of the UK during their lifetimes.
His research has found that UK birth rates affect immigration levels: historically, when fewer babies are being born, more migrants move to the UK; when the birth rate increases, emigration exceeds immigration.
Dorling says he fears that the expected numbers of immigrants over the coming three decades may simply not be met, leaving the UK with dwindling fertility rates and fewer young immigrants working in the UK to fill the labour market gaps.
The researcher explains that it is essential that the UK maintains its reputation as a good place to live in order to attract young foreign workers to safeguard the future of the economy, as the population ages and fertility rates slow.
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