Posted on July 2, 2009

New Private Sector Jobs Taken by Foreign Workers, Research Suggests

Richard Savill, Telegraph (London), June 28, 2009

The number of British workers aged between 16 and 65 in the private sector has actually declined by nearly 90,000 since 1997, according to an analysis of official employment data.

The research, commissioned by the Cross-Party Group on Balanced Migration, found that a third of new public sector jobs also went to non British workers.

These figures show that 1.1 million new jobs have been created in the public sector of which 28 per cent went to non British workers.

In the private sector there were 1.8 million new jobs, but 85 per cent went to non British workers.

An increase in the number of older people choosing to remain in employment also limited the opportunities available for Britons considered of working age.

Commenting on the figures, the MPs Frank Field and Nicholas Soames, who are co-chairmen of the Balanced Migration group, said: “These figures tell a simple story: in the private sector it has been British jobs for foreign workers. The private sector should now match the public sector in ensuring local people have the first chance at gaining local jobs”.