Britain is STILL the biggest migrant magnet in Europe despite Germany and other countries opening their doors

to workers from Eastern Europe

Numbers of EU citizens taking jobs in Britain went up from last year It adds further weight to the argument that Romanian and Bulgarian workers want to come to Britain to work
By Steve Doughty PUBLISHED: 00:44 GMT, 11 June 2013 | UPDATED: 00:46 GMT, 11 June 2013

43 shares 35 View comments

The draw of Britain as a magnet for migrants from across Europe gathered strength last year, official figures showed yesterday. Numbers of EU citizens coming to take jobs in this country went up even though Germany and other major economies opened their doors for the first time to workers from Poland and Eastern Europe. And nearly one in four of all the international migrants who found work in European countries came to take jobs here, nearly double the numbers of immigrants who went to work in Germany, the analysis found.

It is estimated that more than 700,000 people from Romania could try to find work and settle in Britain

The count carried out by the EU statistics arm Eurostat is powerful evidence of Britains continuing status as the preferred destination for workers from elsewhere in Europe and from around the world. It adds further weight to the argument that Romanian and Bulgarian workers will put Britain top of their list of potential destinations when labour market restrictions that prevent them taking jobs here are lifted at the beginning of next year. At the weekend the Romanian think-tank Ires projected that a quarter of the countrys population of young workers aged between 18 and 35 would pick a job in this country when the barriers are removed. The estimate means that more than 700,000 people from the country could try to find work and settle in Britain. The wave of migration from Poland and seven other Eastern European countries which joined the EU in 2004 has brought more than a million of their citizens to Britain. According to the new count from Luxembourg-based Eurostat, which is based on national labour force surveys, slightly over 216,000 EU citizens working in Britain in 2012 said they had arrived over the previous two years, an increase of over 10 per cent on 2010 levels. Around half of these workers are likely to have come from Eastern Europe.

Their numbers now look certain to have been greater than numbers of Eastern European citizens who took the opportunity to work in Germany after Berlin opened its labour market to people from Poland and the other Eastern European EU members in May 2011. Numbers of EU workers moving into Germany doubled to 166,500 over the two years prior to 2012, going up from 80,500 recorded in a similar count in 2010. The figures suggested that the end of restrictions on Eastern European labour brought in around 80,000 new workers. Sir Andrew Green of the Migrationwatch think tank said: What these figures say is that over the past two years nearly twice as many foreign workers came to Britain than to Germany. This is despite Germanys opening of its labour market to Eastern Europeans in May 2011 and despite the lower growth in the British economy. This is a further pointer towards a significant inflow of Romanian and Bulgarian workers into Britain next year. The increase in numbers of European workers in Britain came at a time when Coalition immigration curbs were first beginning to take effect. This meant the numbers of workers who said they had come to this country from outside Europe, and who do not benefit from EU freedom of movement rules, fell slightly, from 184,000 to 183,000. EU countries worst hit by the eurozone crisis, such as Spain and Ireland, showed major falls in numbers of immigrant workers. The Eurostat figures also showed that workers from other EU countries are less likely to be unemployed in Britain than native British workers.

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Comments (35)
Newest Oldest Best rated Worst rated View all "Britain is still the biggest migrant magnet in Europe ..."Couldn't have anything to do with the UK's porous borders and generous benefits system could it? - Mike , Dalian, China, 11/6/2013 05:04 Click to rate Report abuse People come to UK because the majority of them can speak English or at least some English. I would never go anywhere else in Europe because I do not know their language. - sk , London, United Kingdom, 11/6/2013 04:58 Click to rate Report abuse Where on earth are future immigrants going to live?Does this mean that more green belt will be built on? Also not much doubt that some of their British earnings will be sent out of the country.No change there then. - Expat , Christchurch, New Zealand, 11/6/2013 04:52 Rating 3 Rating 6

Click to rate Report abuse

Rating 3

Its gratifying to see that Britain is still maintaining is status as the preferred destination for Eastern European migrants, despite competition from Germany and other major EU economies which are getting wise and opening their doors. Hopefully the extremely hard-working ethic and habits of our Polish, Romanian and Bulgarian EU compatriots will help lift Britain out of the economic and social quagmire it slips ever deeper into! - HalfwitzrUs , London, United Kingdom, 11/6/2013 04:50 Click to rate Report abuse GET US OUT NOW - Alex , Birmingham ENGLAND, 11/6/2013 04:50 Click to rate Report abuse Where will they live. Where will they work. How will we sustain them in terms of public services. Frightening. - Andria , Yorkshire, United Kingdom, 11/6/2013 04:46 Click to rate Report abuse The English language is also a factor. Being the international business language, and also the international music & entertainment language (thanks to the global success of artists from the UK, USA, Ireland, Australia, Canada etc) it is the language that foreign nationals are most exposed to and want to learn most, after their own. - Steve , Portsmouth, United Kingdom, 11/6/2013 04:42 Click to rate Report abuse It's not rocket science - its called **BENEFITS!** - Gary Rose , Log Cabin on the lake., Canada, 11/6/2013 04:39 Click to rate Report abuse It is because of benefits. If one wants to work one goes to Germany, if one wants a cheque for not working one moves to Britain! - Mark Bigelow , Monmouth, Maine, USA, 11/6/2013 04:38 Click to rate Report abuse The whole open door policy is just wrong; people from the poorer countries flock and take advantage of the richer countries....how is this fair? It's just a free-for-all. - Beige Britain , UK, 11/6/2013 04:21 Click to rate Report abuse Rating 5 Rating 4 Rating 5 Rating 2 Rating 5 Rating 4 Rating 4

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