More than a third of the net annual increase in the number of people in work over the past 12 months are people from outside the European Union, new figures have revealed.
The finding forms part of the official labour market statistics for Quarter 1 2019, published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
In total, the labour market increased by a net of 364,000 people – 123,000 of which came from outside the EU.
It means the net number of EU workers coming to the UK to work has slowed considerably.
Kate Boguslawska, Employment Solicitor and Partner at Carter Lemon Camerons LLP, said: “It is not surprising to see why employers have turned to recruitment outside of the EU.
”The ongoing uncertainty about the future of free movement has made the UK less appealing for the EU workers, especially if they look for a long term career. Consequently British, employers have had no choice but to look outside Europe to fill in those gaps.
“On the upside may be the fact that they realise that that there are a number of immigration options, such as for example work permit sponsorship for non-EEA national graduates, which may be less complicated that they have expected.
“Prudent employees should review where their workforce come from at the moment and what will happen in the future. They should consider if they are likely to have enough employees and if they expect to have a shortage, to seek employment and immigration advice on the options open to them.”
If you would like more information on our Corporate and Commercial work, please speak to Kate Boguslawska today.
