UK job market shifts: Foreign workers hit new peak as local employment drops

Latest job-market data shows record-high 7m foreign-born workers in Britain while local employment numbers decline. Government faces challenges with rising unemployment and economic inactivity rates

November 12 2024 , 08:54 AM  •  240 views

UK job market shifts: Foreign workers hit new peak as local employment drops

The british job market shows major shifts with foreign-born workers reaching 7m - a never-before-seen number since records began (while local employment continues its down-ward trend)

Latest data from the Office for National Statistics shows non-EU workers increased by 1.4m since late-2019; however EU-born employment dropped by 231k. The total number of UK-born workers fell by 800k in the same time-frame

The current job-market presents mixed signals: unemployment hit 4.3% by sept 2024‚ and young-people aged 18-24 face a concerning 13.7% jobless rate. Job openings dropped to their lowest point in 3 years - just 831k positions available

Economic non-participation remains a key issue: about 9.25m working-age people dont participate in the workforce. Long-term sickness affects 2.8m individuals (up significantly from pre-pandemic times). Student numbers showed an up-tick with 2.5m currently enrolled

We need major reforms to employment support‚ backed by £240m investment

said Liz Kendall MP‚ Work and Pensions Secretary

Pay trends show some positive movement: regular weekly earnings grew 4.8% year-on-year - though its the smallest increase in two years. After inflation adjustments workers saw a 2.7% boost in real earnings