Brits Hit by Eastern European Emigration

Recently there has been an influx of 1.5 million eastern Europeans getting work in the UK over the past six years. This is likely to have a negative impact on the wages of the lowest paid British workers, according to a major report ordered by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

The report claims that the contribution of the new emigrants to the UK's economy is probably small but positive. However, it does conclude that there is evidence that the recent emigration may have reduced wages slightly at the bottom end of the labor market. This went especially for certain groups of vulnerable workers. It goes on to claim that there is also a risk that the recent influx could contribute to a low skill equilibrium in some economically depressed local areas.

The report estimates that about half of the 1.5 million eastern European workers, who have come to the UK since it opened its borders to an expanded European Union in 2004, have returned home. The ones that remain have found themselves in unskilled occupations. The report even claims that eastern European workers now constitute about half of all labor emigration to the UK.

Although the number of eastern European workers entering the UK has been curtailed by the recession, some experts believe that it is likely that this new form of economic emigration will have an enduring impact on the UK's job market. About 95 percent of male eastern European migrants and 80 percent of females find work upon entering the UK. Reports found evidence that during the recession their unemployment rate had remained significantly below that of British born workers.