Thousands more migrants join workforce as UK staff numbers fall

NEARLY 450,000 more migrants are working in Britain while the number of British-born workers fell by 120,000 over the past year, according to new figures.

The Office for National Statistics disclosed that the number of foreign-born employees increased by 431,000 to 5.4 million over the past year. Over the same period the number of British employees has fallen by 120,000 to 26.4 million.

The number of Romanians and Bulgarians in work reached a new peak of 286,000, the data showed. Restrictions on people from the two countries work- ing in the UK were lifted in January 2014.

The ONS concluded: “This increase in non-UK nationals working in the UK reflects the admission of several new member states to the European Union.”

The figures are also thought to reflect the retirement of older British citizens. However short-term figures, which are often less reliable, showed the number of overseas nationals from the EU working in Britain fall for the first time in more than two years.

ONS research also found that a record number of people are in work following another fall in unemployment to rates not seen for over a decade. More than 31.8 million adults have a job – 300,000 more than a year ago – after a quarterly rise of 37,000, while unemployment fell by 7,000 to just under 1.6 million. That figure is the lowest since the start of 2006, giving a jobless rate of 4.8 per cent – one of the lowest in Europe. The employment rate of 74.6 per cent was the highest since records began in 1971. Average earnings increased by 2.6 per cent in the year to December. David Freeman, the ONS’s senior statistician, said: “Continued moderate growth in employment has led to a new high in the total employment rate, while the rate for women has reached 70 per cent for the first time.”