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The latest quarterly figures show that total annual net migration to Britain in the 12 months to September fell by 29,000 to 244,000. Net migration from outside Europe rose to 205,000 during the year, masking the fall from inside the EU.
At 90,000, net migration from within the EU means more people are still coming to live in Britain than going home but it is lower than those coming from outside Europe and is at its lowest level since 2012.
The Office for National Statistics said the total number of people coming to work in Britain fell by 45,000 to 248,000, which was driven by a 58,000 fall in the number of EU citizens coming to work in Britain.
This drop was largely accounted for by a 35,000 reduction in those coming to look for work in Britain rather than to a definite job. This suggests that the uncertainty created by Brexit is outweighing Britain’s reputation as the “jobs factory of Europe”. [...]