Brexit woes haunt UK with shortfall of 330,000 non-EU workers: Think tanks

The United Kingdom's exit from the European Union has led to a shortfall of 330,000 people in the UK labour force, a report by think tanks, Centre for European Reform (CER) and UK in a Changing Europe said. This shortfall mostly ṭook place in the low-skilled economy.

The departure from the EU in 2020 led to an increase in immigration from non-EU countries, but not enough to compensate for the loss of workers from neighbouring countries, the joint findings of the two think-tanks said.

The number was published after two think tanks took account of Office for National Statistics figures on net immigration. The UK reported a net reduction in immigration of 540,000 by June 2022.

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After Brexit, the UK has a post-Brexit points system immigration system in place. This has made it more difficult for those without qualifications to move to the UK to work.

The post-Brexit points system immigration system has been into force since January 2021.

Between the 18-month period of January 2021 and June 2022, the research found a shortfall of 460,000 EU workers in the United Kingdom.

Transport, warehousing worst-hit

Blue collar jobs such as the ones in transport and warehousing were the worst hit, with a reduction of 128,000 of EU workers, or 8 per cent of total employment in that sector, research found.

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In recent past, the disbalance in the UK economy with shrinking labour force in the UK and soaring number of job vacancies has been attributed to the loss of freedom of movement and disappearance of people over the age of 50 from the workforce.

In wholesale and retail, the reduction was numbered at 103,000 EU workers, while in the hospitality and food sector it was 4 per cent, or 67,000. Manufacturing and construction were down 2 per cent each, and there was a decline of 32,000 EU workers in administrative and support areas.

"In more skilled sectors, such as healthcare, education and ICT, an increase in non-EU workers more than compensated for losses of those from the EU," the report found.

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