UK IMMIGRATION NEWS

Migrant workers still crucial to recession-hit UK

Thursday, 13 August 2009

UK employers are continuing to recruit overseas workers despite the global recession, recent research from the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) has shown.

Their latest Labour Market Outlook (LMO) showed that almost 10% of employers planned to recruit overseas workers in the next 3 months. This is despite figures showing that overall, less than two-thirds of employers intending on taking on new workers.

Whilst the number of UK nationals in UK employment fell between early 2008 to 2009, the number of overseas nationals employed in the UK in fact rose from 2.29 million to 2.35 million within the same period. Overseas workers now hold approximately 1 in 12 UK jobs - more than double the official 1997 rate.

The LMO, conducted by professional services firm KPMG, showed that many UK employers continue to face real difficulties in filling vacancies locally, with more than 25% of the HR professionals interviewed for the survey recruiting overseas nationals due to a lack of suitable local workers. This was particularly common within the private sector, with 32% of employers recruiting migrants because they could not fill their vacancies with suitable British workers. 43% of NHS (National Health Service) and 28% of educational bodies also reported the same reason for overseas recruitment.

CIPD public policy advisor, Mr Gerwyn Davies, said:

"The idea that migrant workers comprise a marginal segment of the UK workforce that is dispensed with when times are tough is clearly wide of the mark. While this may be true for some migrant workers, most are recruited and retained by employers because they provide skills or attitudes to work that are in short supply among the home-grown workforce."

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