Swathes of UK’s economy, including health and warehousing, are being supported by migrant workers. This casts doubt on the Conservative Party promise to tighten immigration policies.
According to Census data from 2021, almost half of specialist doctors, two-in-five generalist physicians, and more than 25% of mental health nurses were born in the UK. The data was released Tuesday by the Office for National Statistics. At 60.7%, packers, bottlers, canners, and fillers had the highest proportion of non-UK workers.
These figures provide a glimpse of Prime Minister Rishi Sonak’s challenges as he tries to fulfill his voters’ commitments to reduce immigration and keep the economy stocked with workers. The Group of Seven’s only member, Britain, has not recovered its pre-pandemic output level. A shortage of workers is also part of the problem.The percentages are for non-UK-born residents older than 16 years.
There were 48.6 millions people in England and Wales who were 16 years old or older on March 20, 2021. The UK was home to 80.9% and the UK was home to 19.1%. This is an increase of 13% from the 2011 census, before Britain voted out of the European Union.
The National Heath Service is experiencing the worst shortage of staff. It has a high case load and workers are leaving for better-paying jobs. The public sector has seen wages fall behind that of the private sector. This has triggered strikes in the NHS, railways, ambulance drivers, and teachers.
Ministers are being urged to reconsider immigration. According to Paul Johnson, Director of Institute for Fiscal Studies at a hearing in Parliament, “the tends to be employment rich – good for public finances,” Johnson said.
The 2016 Brexit vote was influenced by promises to tighten the UK border. The net migration of EU workers has started to decline since then. However, this has been offset by increased migration from other countries.
It is one of the reasons the UK economy is headed for stagnation. According to the Bank of England, the economy can only grow 0.7% without inflation.
At 78.2%, the highest rate of employment was for EU residents working-age at home. The UK had a rate of 71.2%, while 64.9% of non EU citizens were employed.
The most dependent occupations of the so-called elementary class, like cleaning, food preparation, and refuse collection, are those that were not born in the UK. 31.2% of their workforce came from overseas.
Particularly, retail and hospitality businesses complained of low staffing after the pandemic. This was because EU workers had left the UK.
It’s not just lower-skilled jobs that depend on foreign-born workers.
47.5% of the UK’s medical specialists, including oncologists, are foreign-born. 26.3% of the largest group were born in Asia and the Middle East, followed by Africa at 8.5%.
One in four home care workers were also from outside the UK. 18% of those in sales and customer service occupations were also born overseas.
The UK implemented a points-based immigration system in the wake of Brexit. This was stated in the 2019 manifesto of the Conservative Party, which promised to “take control over our borders” as well as be “firmer” and “fairer” with migrants.Anyone who wants to work in the UK, unless they are eligible under any other program, must have been offered a job at a government-approved employer. They must also gain 70 points on a checklist that considers factors such as education, salary, and whether the position is on a shortage list.
This was done to increase employment in the UK and to encourage wealth to stay in the country. Economists warn of the dangers associated with imposing restrictions on countries whose labor market isn’t skilled or motivated enough for vacant positions.
Brexit costs the UK PS100billion a year. Part of this is due to fewer workers arriving in the UK than was previously the case.The UK’s living standards are lower than they were before the referendum
Johnson of the IFS and the Bank of England both stated that Brexit is preventing the UK from achieving its economic recovery.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt had to add construction to his shortage list last week after complaints from building companies that they couldn’t hire fast enough. This was driving up costs and allowing them to attract workers with higher wages.
Similar problems have been reported by companies in both the manufacturing and services industries. This has contributed to the UK’s high inflation rate. The ONS estimates that 1.1 million people have long-term immigrated from the UK in the year up to June 2022.
This net addition to the UK’s population added 504,000. However, 51,000 EY citizens left.
Tomasz Wieladek is the chief European economist for investment manager T. Rowe Price Group Inc said that the exodus from the top of the European labor market was due to the “imperfect diplomatic efforts to solve Brexit issues between the UK, EU”
Wieladek stated that the Windsor Framework agreement will allow for “normal diplomatic relations between the UK, EU and other countries – which are mutually advantageous – but that this could change people’s attitudes towards coming to the UK.”