Just as you thought the British Jobs for British Workers imbroglio has died down, the ONS issues an update to its migrant v native workers figures and it shows just who the recession is hurting. In the last three months of last year there were 278,000 fewer British-born people in work. Over the same period there were 214,000 more immigrants in work. So, in net terms the recession is only hurting native workers: the appetite for immigrant labour seems undimmed.
PS This data is normally only available on request. Normally, a nerd like me makes a data request and the kind souls at the ONS cook it up. But even then, you never see the full picture as you are only told what you ask. The ONS has also published supplementary tables which offer the most detailed study into the relationship between immigration and employment. From what I’ve seen so far, it includes pensioners.
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