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Researchers found Scotland had the largest fall in “British national” payroll jobs, with a fall of 53,000. This compares with falls of 32,000 in the West Midlands, 31,700 in the South-east, 29,400 in the East of England, and 26,500 in London.

The CSJ says the growth since 2020 “has been concentrated in sectors such as social care, hospitality and retail”. Health and social work “accounted for 29% of the increase in non-EU nationals on payrolls”. This was followed by roles in administrative and support services (16%), accommodation and food services (12%) and wholesale and retail (10%).

The report claims Britain has imported workers “to expand headline GDP while allowing millions of people already here to drift away from the labour market”. It states that “employers have gained unprecedented access to overseas labour while taxpayers have absorbed the growing cost of domestic worklessness”.

The CSJ claims that about “6.7million people across England, Wales and Scotland now receive at least one out-of-work benefit” – equivalent to around one in six working-age adults.

Shadow Cabinet Office minister Mike Wood said: “Labour have sent unemployment up and up with their tax raids on businesses and endless red tape. And their failure to secure our borders means more and more low-skilled migrants are arriving.

“This combination means people are fighting harder and harder to get jobs. And Labour are making it worse by failing to offer good opportunities for young people to build good careers, preferring instead to let them walk into a life on welfare.”

A government spokesperson said: “The vast majority of this country’s workforce is made up of UK nationals, and we have introduced a number of changes including a new skills-based migration system to put British workers first and welcome the high-skilled talent that our economy needs. We are also reforming the welfare system by creating almost a million work opportunities for young people through our Youth Guarantee, while investing £3.5billion to help disabled people and those with long-term health conditions move closer to the labour market.”

Foreigners Take 80% of All New UK Jobs – Britons ‘Written Off’

Britain’s employment market has become the centre of a heated political debate after claims that foreign-born workers account for around 80 per cent of net new jobs created in the UK. The figure has raised questions about employment opportunities for British workers, the country’s reliance on overseas labour and whether government policies are doing enough to help people into work.

For critics of the current system, the headline figure suggests that too many people born in Britain are struggling to benefit from changes in the labour market. They argue that ministers must do more to improve training, tackle economic inactivity and ensure that people already living in the country can access available jobs.

Others caution that employment statistics can be misleading when taken out of context. A rise in the number of foreign-born workers does not automatically mean that British-born workers have lost jobs, and the figures do not necessarily reveal why particular employers recruit internationally.

Understanding the debate requires looking beyond the headline and examining how employment is measured, why businesses recruit overseas and what policies could help more people in Britain find secure work.

What Does the 80 Per Cent Figure Mean?

The claim that foreign-born workers account for 80 per cent of new jobs has attracted attention because it appears to suggest that British workers are receiving only a small share of employment growth.

However, the precise meaning of the figure matters. It may refer to the change in employment among people born in the UK and those born abroad over a particular period, rather than the total number of vacancies advertised or the number of individual people hired.

These are different measurements.

Net employment growth measures the change in the total number of people in work between two points in time. It does not count every recruitment decision separately. Workers leave jobs, move between employers, retire or become economically inactive, while new employees enter the labour market.

A group can account for a large share of net employment growth without taking an equivalent share of all new vacancies. The result can also change substantially depending on the start and end dates selected.

Foreign-born workers are not necessarily foreign nationals, either. Many people born overseas have British citizenship, have lived in the UK for decades or have settled permanently with their families. Conversely, nationality and country of birth are separate statistical categories.

Before drawing conclusions, therefore, it is essential to establish the period covered, the source of the data and whether the figure concerns nationality, country of birth, vacancies or net changes in employment.

Without those details, the headline alone cannot prove that British workers are being deliberately excluded from employment opportunities.

Why Are Employers Recruiting Workers From Overseas?

Employers recruit internationally for a range of reasons, including skills shortages, staff turnover, changing demand and difficulties filling particular vacancies.

Some industries depend heavily on workers from overseas. Health and social care, hospitality, food production, agriculture, transport and parts of the technology sector have all recruited international workers at different times, although the scale varies by occupation and region.

The NHS, for example, has long relied on internationally recruited doctors, nurses and other professionals. Replacing those workers quickly would require substantial investment in domestic education and training, alongside effective workforce planning.

In other sectors, employers may report difficulty finding applicants with the necessary qualifications, experience or willingness to work the hours offered. Some vacancies involve physically demanding work, irregular shifts or locations where recruitment is difficult.

Pay and working conditions are also important. If employers struggle to attract domestic applicants, the problem may reflect a genuine shortage of appropriately trained workers, but it may also indicate that wages, schedules or employment conditions need to improve.

These explanations should be examined rather than assumed. Not every international recruitment decision reflects a shortage, and not every vacancy can be filled immediately by a British-born applicant.

The policy challenge is to establish where overseas recruitment supports essential services and economic activity, and where better training, pay, job design or recruitment practices could create more opportunities for people already in Britain.

Are British Workers Being Left Behind?

The concerns behind the headline cannot be dismissed simply because the statistics require careful interpretation.

Some people in Britain face significant barriers to employment, including inadequate qualifications, health limitations, caring responsibilities, transport costs and a lack of suitable vacancies in their local area.

Young people may struggle to obtain their first job because employers demand previous experience. Older workers who lose their jobs can find it difficult to retrain or return to employment after a long absence. People in areas affected by industrial decline may not have easy access to the sectors creating the most vacancies.

For these groups, a growing national employment total does not necessarily translate into improved opportunities.

The government must therefore look beyond the overall number of jobs and consider who is getting work, where vacancies are being created and whether people have the skills needed to fill them.

If British-born workers are experiencing weak employment prospects in particular industries, targeted action may be justified. That could include apprenticeships, technical training, careers advice, improved transport links and support for employers that invest in developing domestic talent.

It could also involve reviewing whether employment services are helping jobseekers move into sustainable work rather than simply directing them towards vacancies that do not match their circumstances.

The central objective should be to make employment more accessible to people who are able to work, while recognising that individuals face different barriers and cannot all be expected to enter the labour market through the same route.

Immigration and the UK Labour Market

Immigration has become a major political issue because it intersects with employment, public services, housing and economic growth.

Supporters of international recruitment argue that overseas workers fill essential roles, contribute taxes, spend money in local economies and bring skills that employers cannot always find domestically.

Critics contend that excessive reliance on recruitment from abroad can reduce the urgency to train British workers, particularly if employers can address staffing difficulties by recruiting internationally rather than improving pay or conditions.

Both arguments raise questions that should be examined using evidence from individual sectors.

For example, if a hospital relies on overseas nurses, a rapid restriction on recruitment without a domestic training plan could worsen staffing shortages. In contrast, if an industry repeatedly recruits internationally despite having a large pool of people who could be trained for available roles, policymakers should investigate whether the recruitment system is working as intended.

There is no single answer that applies equally to every occupation.

The effects of immigration also depend on the wider economic context. Employers need workers, but the benefits of migration and the distribution of those benefits can vary. Local infrastructure and public services may face additional demand, while migrants themselves can experience insecure work, exploitation or difficulty accessing appropriate housing.

A serious employment strategy must consider all these factors rather than treating migration as either an automatic economic benefit or the sole cause of difficulties in the labour market.

The Role of Wages and Training

One of the most important questions is whether British workers are being offered jobs that provide a realistic path towards financial security.

Training programmes can help people move into sectors experiencing shortages, but training alone is not sufficient if the available jobs offer low pay, unpredictable hours or limited opportunities for progression.

Employers have a role in making jobs attractive and investing in the skills they need. Government policy can support that effort through apprenticeships, further education, employer partnerships and clearer routes into technical occupations.

Schools and colleges also need to help young people understand the range of career options available to them. Not every successful career requires a university degree, and vocational qualifications can provide valuable routes into engineering, construction, manufacturing, health services and other fields.

For workers who have been displaced by changes in the economy, retraining needs to be practical and accessible. Courses should lead towards real vacancies rather than qualifications with little value to employers.

The government could also examine whether existing employment support is reaching people who have been out of work for extended periods. Helping those individuals return to employment could improve household incomes while reducing pressure on public finances.

These policies would address the underlying concern that economic growth is not creating sufficiently accessible opportunities for everyone.

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