Migrant figures hit record high – 2.37m working in the UK

A RECORD 2.37 million EU migrants are working in Britain, it has been revealed.

Polish recruiters warn migrant workers to avoid Brexit Britain

It has prompted calls for the Government to take back control of the UK’s borders.

Official figures showed that one in five people seeking work is a migrant.

The number of foreigners in employment is up by 126,000 on the same period between April and June in 2016 and is the highest total since records started 20 years ago.

Non-UK citizens currently resident in the UK make a vital contribution both to our economy and our society

Home Office spokesman

Most of the increase has come from 87,000 Romanian and Bulgarian workers arriving in the UK to take jobs, figures for April to June from the Office for National Statistics have shown.

Lord Green of Deddington, chairman of MigrationWatch UK, said: “Despite all the scare stories of an exodus of EU workers, we have seen a fall of only two per cent from 25 countries and a continued massive inflow from Romania and Bulgaria.

“This increase of 87,000 is enormous and the need to control EU migration could not be clearer.”

Ukip MEP Jane Collins warned that the numbers of unemployed migrants seeking work shows “the need for an urgent end to freedom of movement within the EU”.

The Ukip leadership candidate said the numbers “reinforced the concerns many people had about the Government’s line on delivering a real Brexit” and said the UK needed a points-based immigration systems.

She added: “What these figures don’t show is the downward pressure on wages which has been the inevitable result of uncontrolled migration.

“Migrants from the EU who find themselves unemployed are also entitled to a full range of benefits, which non-EU migrants are not.”

The number of EU workers in Britain has shown some marked changes when the figures are broken down into individual nations. In the second quarter of this year, there were just over one million nationals of 14 long-term member states including Germany, Italy, Spain and France employed in the UK.

This figure has increased from 947,000 during the equivalent three months of 2016.

UK airport - BaristaGETTY • POSED BY MODEL

2.37 million EU migrants are working in Britain

There has also been a rise in the number of Romanians and Bulgarians working in the UK, passing the third of a million mark to reach 337,000 in April to June. Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU in 2007 and restrictions on citizens of the two countries working in Britain were lifted in January 2014.

In contrast to rises across the other country groups, the figures show a fall in the number of nationals of eight central and eastern European states working in the UK.

There were an estimated 997,000 employees from the so-called EUA8 countries which joined the union in 2004 – Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.

This number was down by around 11,000 compared to a year earlier and the first time since the referendum that it has dipped below a million.

The figures also revealed that the number of overseas nationals from outside the EU working in the UK fell by 18,000 on the previous year to 1.2 million.

Job seekersGETTY • FILE PICTURE

One in five people looking for work are migrants

A Home Office spokesman said: “The Government is working to ensure that the domestic labour force has the skills it needs to fill jobs in the UK labour market and these figures show that more UK nationals are in employment than ever before.

“Non-UK citizens currently resident in the UK make a vital contribution both to our economy and our society but we remain committed to bringing net migration levels down to sustainable levels.

“As we conduct our EU exit negotiations, we must ensure we can control the number of people coming to the UK from the EU and build an immigration system that works for everyone.”

The statistics have come as Government sources have hinted that it will not be introducing a visa system for EU citizens when the UK leaves the bloc in March 2019.

And it comes despite Remain campaigners claiming that the Brexit vote had persuaded many EU citizens to leave leading to false suggestions that there would be a fall in numbers.

David Davis and Michel BarnierGETTY

The UK and EU are locked in negotiations over the rights of EU citizens in the UK

The row comes as the UK and EU are locked in negotiations over the rights of EU citizens in the UK in the future.

The European Commission is demanding that EU citizens are subject to the European Court of Justice for their rights not the British Supreme Court.

Prime Minister Theresa May’s “fair and serious offer” of guaranteeing access to benefits, pensions and work and the right to remain is now applying to an increasing number of EU citizens the statistics suggest.

The official statistics covering workers’ country of birth rather than nationality also showed an increase.

Meanwhile, Britain’s Brexit boom has led to an all-time high in employment levels.

The Office for National Statistics said the number of people in work rose by 125,000 to 32.07 million in the three months to June, with the employment rate climbing by 0.3 per cent to a record 75.1 per cent.

The employment level is at its highest since records began in 1971 and is the latest confidence boost to Britain’s economy as it prepares to leave the EU.

Unemployment was at its lowest level in more than 40 years with the official rate at 4.4 per cent, down from 4.9 per cent from a year earlier.

There were 1.48 million unemployed people, 57,000 fewer than for January to March 2017 and 157,000 fewer than for a year earlier.

The figures have been taken as further evidence by Brexit campaigners that the continued Project Fear being waged by Remain supporters is not based on economic reality.

Commenting on the employment figures, Change Britain chairwoman Gisela Stuart, said: “These record employment levels are great news for workers and provide yet further evidence that our economy remains strong.

“Despite the scaremongering of the remain campaign, businesses have confidence in the UK economy and are continuing to take on new staff.

Pound notes on the tableGETTY

Annual growth in wages was 2.1 per cent for April to June

“Outside the EU we can begin a process of national renewal by investing in skills and training, to ensure that British workers are equipped with the necessary tools to succeed in the 21st century economy.”

Meanwhile, annual growth in wages was 2.1 per cent for April to June, up from a revised figure of 1.9 per cent for March to May.

Once bonuses are stripped out, pay expanded by 2.1 per cent over the period, rising from two per cent.

The positive economic outlook was also reflected in share prices with the FTSE 100 up almost 50 points.

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