There has been a lot of talk about workers coming in from other countries and taking over jobs, not only in the U.K. but the rest of the world as well. How much this affects the U.K. economy has been a topic of much debate, but there are some facts and figures that prove it is not a bad thing overall. Economists and other financial experts agree that just because there is a large influx of European Union citizens into the U.K. does not mean that British workers need to be concerned about losing their own jobs. In fact, overall, this migration of EU workers has improved the U.K.’s economy and has resulted in more Britons having jobs as well.
Migration of EU Workers: Good or Bad?
In a recent EU summit, it was disclosed that over two million workers from other EU countries are now in the U.K. That the U.K. is now considered the ‘jobs factory of Europe’ is in part due to these workers, as well as the fact that it has fuelled the British economy, enabling more Britons to work, too. In fact, since approximately 2010, while the number of EU workers has grown to roughly 850,000, the number of Britons working has increased to over one million.
Another important point is that, despite the concern by many organisations about the rising number of EU workers into the U.K., this trend is not exactly a new one. Indeed, over the past 20 years, the U.K. has seen an increase in workers coming from other EU countries, so it is not exactly a new trend. Moreover, it is not exactly a bad one, either, as evidenced by the U.K.’s growing economy.
In fact, one recent study done by Advancis has proven that most of these EU workers now pay more in taxes than they enjoy in state benefits. Their contributions are now estimated at £2 billion per year according to most reports, which is no small sum.
Where Do These Workers Come From?
Regarding the EU workers and where they come from, studies have shown that:
People from western and southern Europe make up 900,000 of the two million who currently work in the U.K.
More than 60 percent of the workers from western and southern Europe are college graduates.
Of those that come here from Eastern Europe, 25 percent are college graduates, which is the same percentage that applies to those workers born in the U.K.
Moreover, since many EU migrants are here with college degrees, they are working in more prominent jobs, not the lower-paying jobs that many assume they are working in. There has recently been an ‘emergency brake’ that will restrict in-work benefits for the first two to four years for most incoming EU workers, but no one knows for certain what effect, if any, this will have on U.K.’s overall economy or on the number of workers wishing to come here every year. Many predict, however, that the trend of EU migrant workers will continue, and is considered by many to be a positive thing.
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