The businesses that will bear the brunt of Brexit
Study shows the industries that rely most heavily on EU workers
THE UK heavily depends on EU workers in food, manufacturing and transport jobs - but a reduced inflow of EU citizens post-Brexit could spell problems for businesses trying to recruit more workers.
New analysis from the Office for National Statistics reveal a total of 31.7 million people across the UK were in work between 2016 and 2018.
Of these, 2.3 million people were EU workers - or one in every 14.
The rate is far higher, however, when it comes to certain industries.
One in every seven employees in the administration and food sector was an EU worker.
The transport and storage industry and the manufacturing industry each saw one in every nine roles filled by an EU worker, ahead of the one in every 10 in the admin and support activities.
The industry with the lowest rate of EU workers was public admin and defence (one in 43), followed by real estate activities (one in 27) and the education industry (one in 22).
A report published in September by CIPD, the professional body for HR specialists, revealed that very few organisations are ready to deal with a reduced inflow of EU workers after Brexit.
The report said this was because of a lack of awareness of the proposed new rules among firms, a lack of planning and political uncertainty.
New restrictions on immigration are planned for January 2021.
At the moment any non-EU citizen working in the UK must earn at least £30,000, but under current proposals this will be extended to EU citizens after Brexit.
The average UK salary, by comparison, is £29,009.
But many of the industries heavily populated by EU workers have average salaries of far less than this.
For example, separate ONS figures estimate the average salary for someone in the accommodation and food industry as £13,675 - less than half of what the white paper proposes EU workers need to be earning.
The CIPD report found: “Upon learning about current white paper proposals, the majority of employers were daunted or alarmed by the prospect of using this new immigration system.
“In particular, concerns were focused on the new minimum salary threshold of £30,000 to recruit EU workers, as well as the full range of costs that employers would incur.”