Professional migrant workers in Britain are adding substantial value to the country’s economy, to the tune of £54bn a year, a new report claims.
The study, conducted by Harvey Nash and the Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR), shows that in 2005, professional and skilled migrant workers represented 2.4% of the UK's labour force and created 5% of the UK’s GDP.
Migrant workers are ‘plugging skills gaps’, particularly within the technology and financial services sectors and bring knowledge that is crucial to growth and innovation in some of the UK’s most successful companies, the report says.
In addition, the report claims that migrant workers spending their cash on consumer items here - known as the ‘multiplier effect’, are further boosting the country’s wealth and effectively support 209,000 jobs and add £9bn to the GDP of the UK.
Albert Ellis, chief executive of Harvey Nash, said: “The sheer size of the contribution foreign skilled workers make to the UK economy in purely financial terms is quite unexpected, and the figure is expected to grow in the years ahead.
“Economic migration has many detractors, but clearly what we are seeing here is unquestionably positive and beneficial to the UK as a whole. In fact, the UK could not do without its influx of economic migrants.”
The report suggests that London is the main receiver of migrant workers, providing much of the talent upon which the financial services sector is based, and contributing £13bn to the capital’s economy.
© Crimson Business Ltd. 2006
