Report says four in five new UK jobs went to foreign nationals

A report by the Centre for Social Justice has found that four out of five new jobs created in the UK over the past decade went to foreign nationals. The analysis, based on PAYE tax records, says the number of jobs recorded through the PAYE system increased by about 3.7 million between 2014 and the end of last year. Of those, 734,000 were taken by British nationals, 408,000 by EU nationals and 2.5 million by non-EU nationals.

The findings were reported on the front page of the Daily Mail and became the focus of broadcast discussion. Critics of current immigration policy said the figures showed the UK had relied on overseas labour instead of training domestic workers. They argued that lower-skilled roles in catering, hospitality and care could have been filled by British workers, and that welfare rules can make taking such jobs less attractive than claiming benefits.

The report also says the number of largely British people receiving out-of-work benefits rose by 2.3 million over the same period. Other figures cited in the coverage include youth unemployment at 16.4%, 403,000 more unemployed people since Labour came to power at the last election, and 1.2 million UK graduates competing for 17,000 graduate jobs.

Discussion of the data focused on post-Brexit immigration policy. Before 2016, the UK usually issued about 25,000 to 35,000 visas a year to main applicants for skilled work. After Brexit, visa numbers rose sharply: 267,000 health and care worker visas in 2022, including over 144,000 for skilled worker and health main applicants, with a further peak in 2023. Net migration reached a record 907,000 in 2023.

Some contributors argued that the Conservative government allowed about two million non-EU migrants into the UK after the EU referendum, many for lower-paid work in catering, hospitality and care. They said those jobs could have been done by British workers but that poor pay and welfare rules made benefit claiming a rational choice for some. One comparison cited was that a person would need to earn about 33,000 pounds a year gross to be better off than on full sickness benefits.

The debate also touched on demographic change. One broadcast highlighted the most common surnames for babies born in the past year, saying Smith remained first but was followed by names including Khan, Ahmed, Ali, Hossain, Singh, Patel and Kaur. The presenter said only three traditional British names were in the top ten, though the list read out included more than three names that are not traditionally British.

Political reaction included criticism of the legacy of the 'Boris wave' of migration and calls for more investment in training and regions. Iain Duncan Smith was cited as saying the easy lever of immigration was pulled instead of investing in areas that need jobs. Others said the economy still needs migrant workers to fill vacancies, and that illegal migration also requires tougher enforcement. The coverage noted recent reductions in small boat crossings but said the numbers remain high and that smugglers are using longer routes from Belgium and Brittany.