Immigration Experts Say Lack Of EU Workers In UK Is Contributing To Wages Squeeze

Immigration experts at law firm Irwin Mitchell, who predicted the Brexit vote would cause a shortfall in the EU workforce within UK, say the issue has contributed to today’s inflation rise announcement as businesses struggle to attract workers from Europe.

The consumer price index (CPI) inflation rate jumped to 1.8% in January, up from 1.6% in December, suggesting that the weak pound is continuing to drive up the cost of living.

The news comes after a report suggested that UK employers are finding it more difficult to fill jobs in shops, factories and hospitals as fewer EU migrants seek work in the UK following the Brexit vote.

The latest Labour Market Outlook from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and The Adecco Group, which polls more than 1,000 employers, reports that business leaders say there are labour and skills shortages throughout the food supply chain as well as in sectors such as manufacturing, healthcare and hospitality.

A quarter also had evidence that the EU nationals they employed were considering either leaving their organisation or the UK in 2017.

The most recent labour market data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that while EU nationals were still arriving in the UK, they were doing so in smaller numbers than in the past.

Growth in the number of non-UK nationals from the European Union working in the UK had almost halved from an average of more than 60,000 per quarter in the nine months to June 2016 to just 30,000 in the three months to September 2016.

Employment agencies have warned that the UK’s food industry is facing the worst labour shortage for at least 12 years.

The public sector is also expected to be severely impacted by the risk of a drop in EU labour, with 43% of education and 49% of healthcare sector employers surveyed in the Labour Market Outlook saying they believed EU migrants among their workforce were considering leaving.

Another new survey, the London Employment Monitor, also highlights a 29% drop in professionals job hunting in the City last month, as high fliers look for jobs in other financial centres.

Omer Simjee, a Partner at Irwin Mitchell, advises businesses and individuals about employment and immigration issues relating to Brexit.