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Dispelling myths about migrants
Migrants now account for one in eight of the UK’s working age population and are boosting economic output by £6 billion each year.
But there is official concern over their impact on crime, housing, health and education.
That’s the conclusion of two separate government reports on immigration last week. The first, The Economic and Fiscal Impact of Immigration, admitted Britain’s unskilled and low-skilled workers were being hit by foreign competition - which was pushing down wages - but said immigrants were often more attractive to employers.
“Native workers sometimes proved unreliable in certain sectors, especially agriculture and hotels and catering,” said the report.
“Some employers had tried recruiting applicants via a jobcentre but found that they sometimes turned up for interviews purely to get a form signed to enable them to receive a jobseeker’s allowance.”
The report concluded: “Migrants are filling the jobs that natives will not do.”
Contrary to popular belief, most immigrants are not waiting at tables or working on building sites. Banking and finance soak up 13% of migrant workers, followed by the hotel and restaurant trade at 12%. Construction accounts for just 7% while another 5% work in agriculture and fishing. And they earn more than their UK-born colleagues. Foreign workers earn an average of £424 a week, compared with £395 for UK-born workers.
However, a Home Office study said immigration was putting pressure on public services. Five out of eight UK regions reported difficulties with crime and disorder because of immigration, even though only two regions said community cohesion was a problem. Six regions reported difficulties with health, five over education and seven out of eight said housing was a problem. Immigrants might boost the economy by £6 billion, but an Oxford University academic claims they cost £8.8 billion. In a report to a House of Lords committee, Professor David Coleman totted up extra costs such as crime (£4 billion), translation services (£100m), English lessons (£280m) and money sent home by migrant workers (£1.4 billion).
Source: The Times Online
21/10/2007
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