Labour Market

Evaluate the cause(s), economic impact and effects of migration within the European union with specific reference to the labour market in the U.K.

Name: Favour Ajah

Professor: Mr Romel Del Mundo.

Submitted: 24/03/16

According to (reed and latorre,2009), the impact of migration on the UK labor market is a continuously controversial and divisive issue in public and political debate. With critics suggesting that immigration reduces wages or employment for the UK born population. This argument has become increasingly prominent since the arrival of a large number of migrants estimated to be around 560,000 accession migrants (Lemos and Portes, 2008) from central and eastern Europe since 2004.

In this essay we will take a look at the some of the causes behind migration, different articles and arguments that speak on the economic impact and effects of migration with specific reference to the labour market in the United Kingdom.

Derived from the office for national statistics, figure 1 shows rolling annual estimates from YE December 2005 onwards illustrating that the latest provisional net migration estimate is higher than the emigration estimate, a result of immigration being more than twice as high as emigration.

(Office For National Statistics,2016)

Figure 1

The idea that the UK is a particularly attractive destination for migrants is a regular theme of the media, policy and debates. The main reason most people choose to migrate to the United Kingdom is for work. The UK’s labour market is thought to be a significant draw for migrants from both within the EU and from non-EU countries.

From September 2010 to September 2014 an estimated annual average of 478,000 non-British citizens moved to the UK intending to stay 12 months or longer, about 214,000 (43%) came for work. A relatively large share of foreign citizens gaining permanent or long-term residence rights in the UK (just under two fifths) were classified as employment-based migrants (Markaki,2015)....