UK IMMIGRATION NEWS

UK Immigration highly beneficial to British economy

Thursday, 1 May 2008

Over the last decade, the British economy has benefited from the UK's high levels of immigration.

Thanks to immigration to the UK, Britain has seen both its inflation and interest rates lowered, says a new report published by city-based think tank, The Work Foundationtoday.

The report reveals that UK immigration has caused skills and labour shortages to be avoided and that the economy has been kept on a stable growth path.

"On the available evidence... the UK's ageing population, with fewer young people entering the job market, means that a fair and flexible policy of managed migration is essential if the economy is to continue to grow," said David Coats, the foundation's associate director of policy and also author of the report.

The report, that praises immigration's affect on the UK, also stated that in 2007, fewer people than in 2006 and 2005 came from central and Eastern Europe.

This means that immigration to the UK should be encouraged by other countries as well, so that new blood can be added to the system, keeping inflation and interest rates low.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has recently said at a monthly press conference that UK immigration had added six billion pounds to the economy, a substantial boost, noting that most British businesses that have faced labour shortage had benefited from being able to recruit more widely from skilled labour.

"The high water mark may have been passed and employers cannot rely on a continued supply of Polish workers to fill labour shortages in the UK," David added in the report. "As the economies of central and Eastern Europe grow and unemployment falls, the pressure to migrate will lessen."

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