Open Europe: ONS study underlines importance of migrant workers in key UK industries

13 April 2017

A new report by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates that there were 3.4 million international workers in the UK in 2016, around 11% of the labour market. Of this, 2.2 million were EU nationals and 1.2 million were non-EU citizens.

The report also finds that industries including manufacturing, hospitality, healthcare and financial services were particularly reliant on international labour, with non-UK nationals representing 12% of financial services workers, and EU nationals constituting 11% of manufacturing workers. Anna Bodey, migration analyst for the ONS, added, “[International migration] is particularly important to the wholesale and retail, hospitality, and public administration and health sectors, which employ around 1.5 million non-UK nationals.” She also said, “Migrants from eastern Europe, Bulgaria and Romania are likely to work more hours and earn lower wages than other workers, partly reflecting their numbers in lower-skilled jobs. Many EU migrants are also more likely to be over-educated for the jobs they are in.”

Full article on Open Europe

ONS: International immigration and the labour market UK, 2016

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