The number of workers in the UK from elsewhere in the EU fell by 61,000 at a time when the number of British and non-EU workers soared, official figures show.
There were an estimated 2.33 million workers from the EU27 in the UK between October to December in 2017, but that figure dropped to 2.27 million a year later. A notable drop in workers from A8 countries, which joined the bloc in 2004 and include Poland and the Czech Republic, largely accounted for the decrease.
It contrasted with an increase in the number of non-EU workers in the UK, rising from 1.16 million to 1.29 million in the same period. This was an increase of 130,000 compared with the equivalent period 12 months earlier, and the highest number since records began in 1997.
The figures, published by the Office for National Statistics, show the non-EU workforce consists of 277,000 workers from Africa, 593,000 from Asia, 299,000 from America and Oceania and 126,000 from European countries that are not members of the EU. There was a year-on-year increase in all these groups, including an 85,000 increase in the Asia category.
About 869,000 people working in the UK in the latest quarter were from A8 states. This was down 89,000 compared with 12 months earlier, and 184,000 fewer than the record high of 1.05 million just after the EU referendum.
Overall, the number of people in work reached a record 32.6 million, and the number of UK nationals in work increased by 372,000 to 29.1 million. The joblessness rate for all people was 4%, it’s lowest level since early 1975.
Axel Antoni, a spokesperson for the 3 Million, a campaign group for EU citizens’ rights, described the drop in EU workers as a “sad but expected” trend. “We’ve been seeing this for the last two years. People who come to the UK to work are highly mobile, they are not afraid to take the risk of uprooting somewhere else. These are highly desirable people, no matter what job they are working because they take the risk other people don’t take. But they are also looking at opportunity and uncertainty and they’re making the decision that the UK isn’t the place to come to or stay.”
The Labour MP Rosie Duffield, a leading supporter of the People’s Vote campaign for a second referendum, said: “The uncertainty over Brexit means it is sadly no surprise that tens of thousands of EU nationals have left Britain over the past year, and that fewer people want to come here to contribute to our society and our economy. Brexit is already damaging our NHS, our universities and industry and means less money for public services.
“EU citizens work in our hospitals, our schools and our businesses. They are our friends, our neighbours and our families. No one voted for a Brexodus of EU citizens who contribute greatly to our economy and to our public services.
Emma Barr, the head of communications at the rightwing Centre for Policy Studies thinktank, said: “These figures are extremely reassuring. Even as we prepare to leave the EU, the British economy, and British business, is still creating jobs at an enviable rate, with record levels of people in work thanks to our flexible labour market.”
