Immediate labour shortage fears may be exaggerated

Commenting on the latest official immigration statistics, Gerwyn Davies, Senior Labour Market Analyst at the CIPD.
brick

Commenting on the latest official immigration statistics, Gerwyn Davies, Senior Labour Market Analyst at the CIPD.

On the surface, the data suggests that the Brexit vote has had a negative impact on the number of EU citizens that would like to live and work in the UK. However, despite a modest fall in recent months, EU net migration levels remain well above post-enlargement average levels due to a continued strong supply of EU15 and Bulgarian and Romanian nationals.

Initial fears that Brexit would have a material impact on employers’ ability to fill vacancies therefore seem to be somewhat premature. However, the rising proportion of EU citizens that have a job offer when they come to the live and work in the UK indicates that employers and jobseekers’ attitudes towards free movement of labour have already changed, with some clearly taking pro-active steps to offset the uncertainty that the vote has created.

However, while employers may be breathing a temporary sigh of relief, it remains to be seen how many EU citizens are still in wait-and-see mode before the negotiations have been resolved. The outcome of the government’s post-Brexit EU immigration policy could become a significant factor in deterring some EU nationals from coming to the UK, especially if the axe falls particularly hard on low-skilled roles.  Employers therefore need to respond now to the potential immigration fall out with a workforce development plan that offsets the potential threat of labour and skills shortages.”

Read more

Latest News

Read More

Bold vs. blunt: The nuances of leadership communication

2 April 2025

Newsletter

Receive the latest HR news and strategic content

Please note, as per the GDPR Legislation, we need to ensure you are ‘Opted In’ to receive updates from ‘theHRDIRECTOR’. We will NEVER sell, rent, share or give away your data to third parties. We only use it to send information about our products and updates within the HR space To see our Privacy Policy – click here

Latest HR Jobs

University of Exeter – Human ResourcesSalary: The starting salary will be from £33,482 on Grade E, depending on qualifications and experience.

A renowned industrial developer with a strong reputation for delivering high-quality projects and fostering an outstanding workplace culture is seeking a HR Director on a

Were looking for great people to join our growing team here at Elevate.Elevate is an award-winning global people powered agency creating compelling human connections with

As our new Director of HR, you will be at the forefront of creating the Land Registry of the future, ensuring that we have the

Read the latest digital issue of theHRDIRECTOR for FREE

Read the latest digital issue of theHRDIRECTOR for FREE