EU labour
necessary to
UK market

6 October 2014

A report issued by the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) has concluded that whilst UK employers are tending to turn to migrant labour to fill lower-skilled vacancies, they are also investing in initiatives to help young people to enter the UK labour market.

‘Restrictions on migrant labour would be counter-productive’ – CIPD

Published on 30 September 2014, the report looks at how the growth of EU labour has affected the UK labour market and draws on information gathered from a survey of 1,000 employers. It has been found that organisations employing migrant workers are 22% more likely to report that their business has grown over the last two years than businesses who tend not to. In addition to business growth, these organisations are investing in youth employment through the creation of jobs and initiatives. As a result, the CIPD claims that restrictions on migrant labour would be counter-productive despite evidence of EU labour contributing to the rate of youth unemployment in the UK.

The report has indeed cast a direct link between youth unemployment and the guarantee of free movement to EU migrants. However it seems to be no surprise that many employers turn to EU labour, since many migrants are older, more experienced and better qualified upon entering the UK. Instead of stringent restrictions of EU migration to the UK which could harm the generation of jobs and growth, the CIPD are asking policy makers to review relations between employers and schools with a view to bringing young UK-born workers in line with the skills and employability of migrant workers.

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