4 in 5 UK jobs went to foreigners last year as number of EU workers doubles
220,000 jobs snapped up by Europeans cashing in on Britain's economic recovery as critics urge for tighter border controls
A STAGGERING four in five jobs have gone to people from outside the UK in the past year.
Official figures revealed that of a huge 414,000 rise in employment, 80 per cent or 330,000 posts were taken by foreign-born workers.
More than 220,000 roles – equivalent to the population of Portsmouth – were landed by EU nationals flooding to Britain to cash in on the recovery.
Stunned experts said the figures for the 12 months to March showed official stats were masking the true scale of immigration into the country.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed there are now a record 2.2 million EU workers in the UK – double the levels six years ago.
Overall, people born overseas make up 16 per cent of the workforce in this country – more than 5.2 million.
Iain Duncan Smith, the ex-Cabinet Minister and ‘Brexit’ campaigner, said the alarming figures laid bare the huge competition Brits were facing just to get a job.
He stormed: “Our labour market is thriving, but it’s notable that more than three quarters of the rise in employment over the last year has come from people born abroad.
“The truth is that it is Brits on low pay – and those out of work – who feel the consequences of uncontrolled migration.
“They are forced to compete with millions of people from abroad for jobs, and they suffer downward pressure on their wages.”
Pro-EU academic Jonathan Portes said the figures were another clear sign the real scale of immigration into Britain was being under-reported by the ONS.
The ONS was last week forced to admit it appeared 800,000 EU migrants came to Britain in 2014-2015 - three times the ‘official’ number.
Mr Portes told the Sun: “This is consistent with my view that actual immigration statistics have been understated. There are a lot more EU nationals here than the immigration numbers seem to suggest.”
Ministers yesterday insisted the job figures were good news for Britain, with a record 31.6 million people in work at end of March, unemployment edging down and wages rising at 2.1 per cent.
But experts said the stats proved the huge gulf between the performance of the UK and Eurozone economies is drawing record numbers of Europeans across the Channel.
Most of those heading to Britain in the past year come from western European nations such as Spain, Italy and France.
The number of Romanians and Bulgarians working here has also gone up by 50,000 to 232,000.
Alp Mehmet, vice chair of Migration Watch, said: “Given most EU nationals take up lower skill, lower paid work there will be little benefit to public finances.
“These figures show that pressure to keep wages down at the lower end of the scale continues apace.”
The devastating stats came as a new poll put the Remain campaign on an 18 point lead in the EU Referendum race – 57 per cent to 39 per cent.
But pollsters Ipsos Mori said immigration remained voters second biggest concern.
Brexit campaigners insist Britain’s sky-high immigration is clobbering Brits as firms are able to keep wages low.
Lord Stuart Rose, the head of the ‘In’ campaign, has been kept off the airwaves by No.10 ever since admitting in March that leaving the EU would push up pay for low-paid Brits.
Asked what would happen in the event of a Brexit, the former Marks & Spencer chiefs, told MPs “the price of labour will, frankly, go up.”
The job stats come just two days after Migration Watch claimed EU immigration is costing the Government £1.2 billion a year given the drain on the benefits system, health and education.
HMRC last week insisted that EU migrants in 2013-2014 contributed £2.5 billion more in tax and National Insurance than they pocketed in tax credits and child benefits.
Yesterday’s figures showed that more than 26 million Brits are in work. And a record number of women – 69.2 per cent - have a job.
Pensions Secretary and ‘In’ campaigner Stephen Crabb hailed the stats as “record breaking”.
He insisted: “More people in work means that more families across the UK are benefitting from the security of a regular wage and the fulfilment that employment brings.”
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