Most New Jobs in the Last Year Went to EU Nationals

Commenting on the publication of the latest UK Labour Market statistics by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), Iain Duncan Smith MP said:

‘Our labour market is thriving, but it’s notable that more than three quarters of the rise in employment over the last year has come from people born abroad.

‘The truth is that it is Brits on low pay – and those out of work – who feel the consequences of uncontrolled migration. They are forced to compete with millions of people from abroad for jobs, and they suffer downward pressure on their wages.

‘The only way to take back control of our borders, economy and democracy is to Vote Leave on 23 June. That way we can have a fair migration policy that allows us to bring in the skills we need while investing in home-grown talent. A Vote to Leave also means we can take back control of the £350 million we hand to Brussels every week, and spend it on our priorities instead.’

The number of EU nationals working in the UK has increased by 224,001 in the last year alone, the equivalent of a city the size of Portsmouth.

The figures show that the number of EU nationals working in the UK in the first quarter of 2016 was 2,145,686. This is an increase of 93,726 from the last quarter of 2015 and an increase of 224,001 from a year ago. The annual increase is the equivalent of a city the size of Portsmouth.

The number of EU citizens working in the UK is up from 1,091,731 from the first quarter of 2010, an increase of 1,053,955 (ONS, 18 May 2016, link). This is the equivalent of a city the size of Birmingham.

The rate at which EU citizens are being added to the workforce is increasing. Between the first quarter of 2012 and the first quarter of 2013, just 24,291 EU citizens were added to the workforce.

As the ONS states ‘the number of non-UK nationals from outside the EU working in the UK has been broadly flat but the number of non-UK nationals from EU countries working in the UK has continued to increase’.

Most new jobs in the last year went to EU nationals. The ONS explicitly states this is linked to the EU accessions.

The ONS states that in the last year, ‘UK nationals working in the UK increased by 185,000 to 28.15 million… non-UK nationals working in the UK increased by 229,000 to 3.34 million‘.

This means that 55.3% of new jobs went to non-UK nationals. The overwhelming majority of the increase was due to EU citizens. 54% of the total increase was due to EU citizens.

The ONS states that ‘Looking at changes in non-UK nationals working in the UK between January to March 1997 (when comparable records began) and January to March 2016: the number of non-UK nationals working in the UK increased from 928,000 to 3.34 million… the proportion of all people working in the UK accounted for by non-UK nationals increased from 3.5% to 10.6%… this increase in non-UK nationals working in the UK reflects the admission of several new member states to the European Union (EU)’.

412,000 persons were added to the UK workforce in the last year. 94,000 were born in the UK (22.91%). The remainder were born outside the UK, including 252,000 born in the rest of the EU.

Unemployment and the claimant count are falling: the Government’s claims about the impact of the referendum are falling apart.

The ONS states that: ‘The unemployment rate for those aged 16 and over for January to March 2016 was 5.1%. This was: unchanged compared with October to December 2015 [and] down from a year earlier (5.6%)’.

The Government previously claimed that rises in unemployment were down to the EU referendum and the fear of a leave vote. Despite the polls remaining constant, there has now been a decline in unemployment – this is embarrassing for the Government.

The claimant count is also falling. The ONS states that: ‘For April 2016 there were 737,800 people claiming unemployment related benefits. This was: 2,400 fewer than for March 2016 [and] 57,600 fewer than for a year earlier’.

The number of vacancies is rising year on year. The ONS states that ‘The number of vacancies for February to April 2016 was 13,000 more than for a year earlier’. The Education Secretary, Nicky Morgan, has claimed: ‘firms are already cutting back on advertising jobs because of their fear of a Brexit’.