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[h=1]At last, most new jobs are filled by British workers thanks to stricter immigration policies[/h]
By Becky Barrow
The majority of jobs created in Britain over the past year have been filled by workers who were born in this country, official figures revealed yesterday.
It represents a dramatic reversal on Labour’s 13 years in power when there was a haemorrhaging of jobs to foreign workers.
Office for National Statistics figures show that three in four jobs have gone to workers born outside Britain since 1997, even hitting more than 90 per cent at times.
Of the 3.1million increase in employment since 1997, some 2.3million jobs went to foreign-born workers and just 794,000 went to those born in the UK.
Home grown: The majority of jobs created in Britain in the last year have been filled by people born in this country, new figures have revealed
But the latest figures reveal that the situation has dramatically reversed, helped by the Government’s stricter immigration policies.
Over the past year, employment levels in Britain have increased by 584,000, with 380,000 (65 per cent) going to British-born workers.
Immigration Minister Mark Harper heralded the long-awaited change, which comes six years after then Prime Minister Gordon Brown called for ‘British jobs for British workers’.
He said: ‘These figures show that we are building a better immigration system that works in the national interest and is supporting growth.
Happy: Immigration minister Mark Harper heralded the news yesterday
‘The rise in numbers in employment has benefited British citizens first, but our system is still allowing skilled migrants to come to the UK where they are needed by British businesses.
‘This follows significant changes to the immigration rules – clamping down on bogus students who only came to the UK to work, often in low-skilled jobs, while remaining open to the brightest and the best.’
Overall, the ONS said the number of workers in Britain has reached its highest level since records began in 1971, with a record 29.7million people in work.
Despite the stream of dismal economic data, the number of workers soared by 584,000 last year, the biggest annual increase for nearly a quarter of a century.
This is equal to 1,600 new jobs being created every day, a robustness which puzzles experts at a time when economic output is falling.
Dr John Philpott, a director of The Jobs Economist, said: ‘The UK jobs market continues to astound.
‘We are in the middle of both a jobs boom and a pay slump as jobseekers struggle to gain or retain employment in a stagnant economy by pricing themselves into work.
'This is unlike anything seen in this country since the Second World War, with the economy using more and more people at falling rates of pay to produce a static level of output.
‘For the time being this looks like a decent trade-off if the alternative is even higher unemployment.’
And there is evidence that people are finally finding full-time jobs, rather than being forced to accept part-time work, typically poorly paid, in the absence of a better offer.
Between October and December, the ONS said an extra 197,000 people found full-time jobs, the largest increase since records began in 1992.
Tory MP David Ruffley, a member of the influential Treasury select committee, said: ‘These figures suggest that economic austerity really is biting.
‘Before you were either better off on benefits or you turned your back on part-time work.
'But UK-born workers now think that any job is better than being in no job.
‘Whether the threatened influx of Romanians and Bulgarians takes the same view remains to be seen.’
Climbing: The number of people in work is at a record high as the economic recovery continues
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...icter-immigration-policies.html#ixzz2LUluqppZ
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
- Three in four jobs have gone to foreign workers since 1997
- But 65 per cent have gone to people born in the UK in the last year
By Becky Barrow
The majority of jobs created in Britain over the past year have been filled by workers who were born in this country, official figures revealed yesterday.
It represents a dramatic reversal on Labour’s 13 years in power when there was a haemorrhaging of jobs to foreign workers.
Office for National Statistics figures show that three in four jobs have gone to workers born outside Britain since 1997, even hitting more than 90 per cent at times.
Of the 3.1million increase in employment since 1997, some 2.3million jobs went to foreign-born workers and just 794,000 went to those born in the UK.
But the latest figures reveal that the situation has dramatically reversed, helped by the Government’s stricter immigration policies.
Over the past year, employment levels in Britain have increased by 584,000, with 380,000 (65 per cent) going to British-born workers.
Immigration Minister Mark Harper heralded the long-awaited change, which comes six years after then Prime Minister Gordon Brown called for ‘British jobs for British workers’.
He said: ‘These figures show that we are building a better immigration system that works in the national interest and is supporting growth.
Happy: Immigration minister Mark Harper heralded the news yesterday
‘The rise in numbers in employment has benefited British citizens first, but our system is still allowing skilled migrants to come to the UK where they are needed by British businesses.
‘This follows significant changes to the immigration rules – clamping down on bogus students who only came to the UK to work, often in low-skilled jobs, while remaining open to the brightest and the best.’
Overall, the ONS said the number of workers in Britain has reached its highest level since records began in 1971, with a record 29.7million people in work.
Despite the stream of dismal economic data, the number of workers soared by 584,000 last year, the biggest annual increase for nearly a quarter of a century.
This is equal to 1,600 new jobs being created every day, a robustness which puzzles experts at a time when economic output is falling.
Dr John Philpott, a director of The Jobs Economist, said: ‘The UK jobs market continues to astound.
‘We are in the middle of both a jobs boom and a pay slump as jobseekers struggle to gain or retain employment in a stagnant economy by pricing themselves into work.
'This is unlike anything seen in this country since the Second World War, with the economy using more and more people at falling rates of pay to produce a static level of output.
‘For the time being this looks like a decent trade-off if the alternative is even higher unemployment.’
And there is evidence that people are finally finding full-time jobs, rather than being forced to accept part-time work, typically poorly paid, in the absence of a better offer.
Between October and December, the ONS said an extra 197,000 people found full-time jobs, the largest increase since records began in 1992.
Tory MP David Ruffley, a member of the influential Treasury select committee, said: ‘These figures suggest that economic austerity really is biting.
‘Before you were either better off on benefits or you turned your back on part-time work.
'But UK-born workers now think that any job is better than being in no job.
‘Whether the threatened influx of Romanians and Bulgarians takes the same view remains to be seen.’
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...icter-immigration-policies.html#ixzz2LUluqppZ
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
