By Mason Alexander
02/03/2017
Good afternoon and thank you for tuning in to another blog related to the labour market in the UK and need for skilled labour. We refer to facts and figures taken from an interesting Evening Standard & The Times article:
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/91a810e6-fdbb-11e6-a22f-c31ef65384a0
Overview
The headline states that although the market is slowing down, there are more people in work as a proportion of the adult population than ever before and that we are heavily reliant upon migrants from the EU. The main sectors being: hospitality and catering; construction and house building and doctors and university staff. These are just a few examples however the situation is apparent across the whole economy.
May's Plans
Theresa May’s ambition to reduce net immigration to 100,000 per year from the current 300,000 per year could have dramatic implications on the economy. Post war Britain saw a huge increase in birth rates and the majority of these people are now of retirement age. The strain is already clear within the NHS and even trying to get an appointment at your local GP. With fewer potential workers and an aging population who have to be supported the future could be bleak. With these figures it suggests each worker will have 6 people to support and should May’s aspirations go further to reduce net immigration to 40,000 per year a staggering 24 people per worker as the population continues to expand.
Reality
This clearly portrays a common theme that migrants are essential for the economy to strive and support an ageing population. Britain is dependent on migrant workers and the figure from ‘The Times’ article show that in the 12 months to the final quarter of last year, employment among UK nationals rose by a reasonable 70,000. The rise in employment among non-UK nationals was more than three times that, 233,000. Of these workers, 190,000 were from the rest of the EU.This article mainly talks about EU migrants however, the highly skilled category and sponsorship of Non-EU national is equally important (43,000 increase in employment). This increase as essential especially within IT where new technologies and extremely highly skilled roles are difficult to recruit for. This could present an opportunity to not just rely heavily on ever disgruntled EU workforce and utilise the very best talent from further afield.
Longer term
Figures also portray shocking numbers regarding UK born vs non-UK born workers:
UK Born: 120,000 less
Non UK Born: 431,000 more
This shows the huge impact EU nationals have on the British economy and treat of labour gaps in the future. In addition the pound slumped following Brexit making Britain less attractive as less money comparative to native countries. Employers in the UK have been forced to increase pay to attract talent. An example of this is the construction industry where wages have increased 6.5%. Therefore, Britain will have to potentially pay more for talent and also overcome a stigmatism that EU nationals are no longer welcome.
Sum up
If we are to continue being a Technological and innovative economy throughout the world we must encourage some talent from overseas. Fintech is just one example of an up and coming exciting industry - the need for skilled IT consultants is ever apparent. For EU & Non-EU nationals the message is still very positive and labour gaps are always going to exist. Do refer to the rest of our page for more information and specifically regarding the IT contracts market. Do feel free to get in touch. I hope you have enjoyed reading and have a great day.
Thanks
Mason Alexander Team
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